New Delhi, August 10, 2020: Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden, who appeared for his national side from 1993 to 2008, was known not only for smashing the opposition players with his batting but also for his sledging from the slips cordon.
In a recent interview on The Grade Cricketer Podcast, the 48-year-old recalled how he used to play mind games on his oppositions to get under their skin.
Hayden recalled an incident from a Test match against Pakistan at Sharjah in 2002 when he sledged former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar and mentally broke the spirit of the then fastest bowler in scorching heat.
The former Australian cricketer said that he called aggressive pacer Akhtar a ‘B-grade actor’ which used to mentally break him down.
“Someone like Akhtar for example, I’d call him ‘B-grade actor’ for a start, which used to get under his skin a bit,” foxsports.com.au quoted Hayden as saying.
Hayden further revealed that though Akhtar was the one to start the verbal confrontation, he stretched it further to leave the Pakistan bowler suffer.The Australian revealed that he had also challenged Akhtar to dismiss him within 18 balls even before he had faced a ball.
“We were playing in Sharjah and it was 58 degrees out in the middle and Akhtar, when we walked out, said, ‘I’m going to kill you today’ in a whole lot more colourful language. And I said, ‘Mate, that’s terrific, you know I’m looking forward to that challenge’ in a lot more colourful language,” Hayden said.
“So I said, ‘But here’s the thing, Dumbo. You’ve got 18 balls to do it. You’ve got three overs because you’re going to turn into a marshmallow that’s been left on the plane too long and is going to be dripping down and I’m going to be the one at the other end of those 18 balls that’s going to be mopping it up’,” he added.
He also revealed that he used former Indian star and the then umpire Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, popularly known as as Venkat–as an advantage to get under Akhtar’s skin according to the reports published in zeenews.india.com.
“I go right, how can I get Shoaib looking like an absolute goose and how can I tell Venkat about this? Now India and Pakistan, there’s no love lost there, so I though that’s my point (of leverage).So as Shoaib’s running in to bowl and he’s cursing every profanity under the sun at me, I get to his bowling mark as I’m counting down his balls from one to 18. He gets to his delivery stride and I pull out. He runs at me going, ‘What’s the problem?,’he said.
“I said, ‘I’ve got a problem’. I storm up to Venkat and say, ‘I give everything on the game, I deserve everything I get, but within the protocols and etiquette of the game, surely you can’t be running in and abusing someone’,” Hayden added.
Hayden smashed a blistering knock of 119 runs during the clash to help Australia post 310 runs in their first-innings in reply to Pakistan’s low score of 59.
Akhtar finished with figures of one for 42 in 14 overs he bowled.
Australia then bundled out Pakistan for 53 runs in their chase of 252 as Hayden’s side won the clash by an innings and 198 runs.
