Matthew Hayden

Some batsmen were feared more for their presence and intent than their skill set in general. Matthew Hayden belonged to that crop of players. And it's not to suggest that he didn't have the skills, he had them aplenty but the fear factor that he induced in a bowler was exemplary. He was also among the rarest of players from the 90s who adjusted fabulously to the sensational T20 format with elan. A pure match-winner, Hayden was one of the pillars of Australia's golden era as he would bully bowlers with nonchalance at the top of the order. When we talk about Haydos, the first image that runs in our mind is that of him charging towards the fast bowlers without any respect whatsoever. That defined him - fearless.

It didn't begin all that well for Hayden though, as far as his international career is concerned. Having made his debut in 1993, he remained mostly on the fringes over the next few years due to the extreme competition in the Australian side. He did get the odd game in between but neither did anything sensational nor got the long run a new player needs to justify himself. Consequently, he got booted from the side and after reworking himself tremendously in the domestic circuit, roared back to contention in the 2000-01 season. Although his comeback to the national side was again hardly anything to talk about, he got that breakthrough series he was desperately looking for - the tour of India in 2001.

On the spinning pitches of India, Hayden dictated terms with aplomb, using the sweep shot with such ease that it put extreme pressure on India's slow bowlers. It was a fantastic series overall as the hosts came from behind to win it and there were several star performers like VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and the young turk Harbhajan Singh. However, Hayden shone even brighter, considering that these were alien conditions for him and yet, he reigned supreme, looking unshakable most of the times. Such was his domination that he even earned a recall to the ODI side during the same tour. Till before that trip, the southpaw was considered mainly for Tests but this series proved everyone wrong and since then, he became one of Australia's powerful weapons at the top of the order.

Hayden was the epitome of brawn meets brain and the result was there for all to see. Although at times, he did have a weakness to the moving ball especially when the pacers bowled from round the wicket. Nevertheless, as a whole, he was a terrific package and the nature of his strokeplay meant that the Aussies were more often than not, off the blocks very quickly. He formed a devastating partnership with Adam Gilchrist in ODIs and Justin Langer in Tests - both of which were iconic to Australia's success. Hayden even broke Lara's long-standing record for the individual score in Tests (375) by hammering 380 against Zimbabwe, only for the West Indian to reclaim it with a 400* against England in the same season. Nevertheless, Hayden still holds the Australian record and it's also still the second highest.

Australia's World Cup titles in 2003 and 2007 which helped them complete a hat-trick of trophies, had Hayden's stamp on it, particularly in the latter tournament where he was just unstoppable. Even in Ashes contests, he reigned supreme, especially at home while having moderate returns on the England tours. After enduring a tough 2008-09 season where he was also dropped from the team, Hayden announced his international retirement in 2009 although he continued to feature in the IPL. He was pivotal to the Chennai Super Kings' success, replicating the role he had in Australian colors with the same finesse. The franchise won the title twice in 2010 and 2011 with Hayden being key to the success. Finally in 2012, the big Queenslander called it quits from all forms of the sport. Thereafter, he has been an active TV commentator.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan