Matthew Hayden Retires - Tribute Thread ***Breaking News***

[HMas]

Hayden has decided to quit cricket and it is likely he will be given a rousing farewell with a lap of the ground at tonight's Twenty20 match between South Africa and Australia at the Gabba.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24905260-952,00.html

 

[Richard]

How untidy to play half of a two-legged series and not the other half.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

An awful article. Still, not surprised that he's retired.

A literal colossus of the game (yes, literally literal - he's huuuuuuge) though I expect Richard will be holding a party tonight in celebration.

 

[Simon]

Interesting decision to call it quits now rather than get the exit he deserved at the SCG. Pretty obvious this is a case of Hayden wanting to play on and the selectors telling him he wont be picked again so he's decided to retire.

 

[Richard]

I expect Richard will be holding a party tonight in celebration.

Very far from it. As I say, the longer he went on the happier I'd have been, because him having any further success seems pretty unlikely.

From his and Australia's POV, this is likely to be the right decision. For those who want to see him fail, it's probably a disappointing one.

 

[cover drive man]

Wow end of an era.

 

[ozone]

Fantastic player, no matter on what kind of track or against what kind of attack, it takes some skill to score as many runs as he did. Shame he went on to the stage where he was dropped from one of the sides before finally deciding to quit. Despite this, he will be remembered as a huge part of one of the greatest teams in history, and IMO, rightly so.

 

[howardj]

Matthew Hayden Retires - Tribute Thread

Haydos to retire.

What a great career.

Idolised this man while I was growing up.

Well played Haydos.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Had a great career. Dominant batsman, however even he couldn't avoid the hounding out that seems to be plaguing all modern greats in recent times. Good news for CSK though

 

[JBH001]

Ah, was expecting that.

Glad to hear that he has retired. It would have been, I think, painful to watch him in SA and England.

Well played and well done, Hayden. All the very best for your retirement.

 

[Speersy]

Haydos!

Thanks for the memories mate.

 

[Jakester1288]

C-ya later mate.

Thanks for everything.

 

[Simon]

Has been my favourite player for about 12 years, great batsman at all levels, was a shame we didnt get to see the best of him all the way till the end.

 

[GIMH]

Fair play to the guy, and well it's good that he at least was never dropped from the Test side, spared himself that. Deserves to enjoy his retirement, has been quite some player.

 

[Cevno]

Is this confirmed?

If it is,sad way to go for a fine player.Did not expect him of all people to go in this fashion.

Though he did not have the best or earliest of starts to his Int'l career,he went on to become a really good player for the aussies.
Always was a intimidating presence for the oppostition bowlers,particularly Indian bowlers against whom he did pretty well.

best wishes to him for the future.

 

[DingDong]

Easily the greatest opener in the post-2000 era. One of the greatest openers of all time.

 

[Ikki]

Easily the greatest opener in the post-2000 era. One of the greatest openers of all time.

And the best since Gavaskar.

Really sad to see him go. One part of me wishes he'd stay on, another part of me realises this probably should have come earlier. Would have rather have him leaving on top.

 

[Mister Wright]

Sad, sad news. Just won't be the same watching cricket anymore. Spent a lot of years using positive energy to get Hayden into the test side which included faxing a Courier Mail page to the ACB to get Hayden selected for the test side.

Loved watching him bat, more in his late 90s Shield days, then his test days, but still loved every minute of it. Also, loved his grit and determination to always get back and play for Australia, especially after being dropped from the limited overs side in '05.

Proud to say I saw the fastest WC century live in the West Indies, and got to see him score a test and ODI century at the 'Gabba. Also, saw him take three wickets against N.S.W.

Loved Matt the Bat, and won't be the same without him.

All the best in retirement mate, and keep the cook books coming.

 

[BoyBrumby]

It's the right decision for me, time and tide and all that. Maybe a year too late in retrospect, but it's easy to be wise after the event.

Great player. Not my favourite to watch, but brutally effective.

 

[readie]

Absolutely fantastic career. Has bowed out at the best moment, however it would have been nice to have seen a trademark ton during the series just gone and for him to go out having shown his dominance one more time, his time probably was up.

One of the most imposing batsmen in world cricket, his combination with Langer at their peak was an unstopable machine at times. I will sorely miss one of the last few links to the Supreme Aussie side of my younger childhood. Well Played Haydos!!