The_Bunny
State Regular
I'm sure its not a sin for us to have different opinions, and that is the situation we have on our hands.
Given that this situation seems to be unlikley to change, we might as well leave it that way
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Who's the greatest opening batsman of alltime?
- Thread starter BhupinderSingh
- Start date
Given that this situation seems to be unlikley to change, we might as well leave it that way
stumpski
International Captain
I suspect that if we were to ask them Slater, especially, and probably Atherton too would admit that Hayden is the better batsman - I'd go with your 'awful' option myself. His record is comparable to both Boycott and Gavaskar, even if he hasn't always been up against the same calibre of bowling, and hasn't been tested on bad wickets as Boycott was - in domestic cricket if not much in Tests.
pup11
International Coach
I don't know why people treat Hayden as if he is trash or the worst player ever to play international cricket, he is a damn good player IMO, he is not the most naturally talented player to have played the game that i agree but he has got tremendous determination and will to succeed which makes him a great player.
Hayden got selected in the early 90's but soon he was dropped but never lost hope and he kept on piling the runs at the domestic level year after year (and due to this he was named "MATT THE BAT") and he kept on improving himself.
In 01 he got his chance and he made most of it and from there on in he changed the way test cricket was played, he in combination with Langer attacked the new-ball bowlers from the very first ball of the test match and he made big runs at a very good strike-rate in almost every condition.
Then he was dropped from the Odi side and he again worked hard on his batting and came back with a lot more determination and now its for all of us to see how from being a player who struggled to find a place in the Australian Odi side how he became the ICC Odi player of the year 2007.
For me Matty Hayden has been a player who has always taken failure and rejection as a stepping stone to success, and that is something for which i really admire him.
Hayden got selected in the early 90's but soon he was dropped but never lost hope and he kept on piling the runs at the domestic level year after year (and due to this he was named "MATT THE BAT") and he kept on improving himself.
In 01 he got his chance and he made most of it and from there on in he changed the way test cricket was played, he in combination with Langer attacked the new-ball bowlers from the very first ball of the test match and he made big runs at a very good strike-rate in almost every condition.
Then he was dropped from the Odi side and he again worked hard on his batting and came back with a lot more determination and now its for all of us to see how from being a player who struggled to find a place in the Australian Odi side how he became the ICC Odi player of the year 2007.
For me Matty Hayden has been a player who has always taken failure and rejection as a stepping stone to success, and that is something for which i really admire him.
Richard
Cricket Web Staff Member
I don't think his record's remotely comparable to Boycott's or Gavaskar's, nor Atherton or Slater (whatever those 2 might think - they'd look a tad big-headed if either said "I reckon I was better than Hayden").
Hayden may have a massively higher average, but almost all his runs have come against rubbish seam-attacks, and the current age is the only one in which such attacks abound. Hence, in almost any other time, he wouldn't have lasted 20 Tests IMO.
bagapath
International Captain
hayden can not be compared to gavaskar and greenidge; they were far more solid as opening batsmen against much better fast bowlers than what hayden faced in most of his career. also going by what i have read, he can not be compared with sutcliffe, hutton and trumper either. and i dont think any opener in the history of cricket so far should ever be compared with hobbs.
Pup Clarke
Cricketer Of The Year
I'm wondering how people can rate batsmen or bowlers in order if they've never actually seen them play and go by stats. Their are probably only a small handful of members (SJS, JB etc) who've seen these players. It just seems farfetched to rate the best opener if you go by stats and what others think.
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
We are in an age when someone like Sehwag averages 50 in tests.
Imran would have made a monkey out of him. Holding would have been through his bat and toe every second delivery.
This is an age of 'great' openers if test averages are a criteria. Fifty seems the average kind of average for an average opener today
The_Bunny
State Regular
I can understand if you think he is only as good as Slater, maybe even Atherton (Slats is better Atherton by a way imo) but Not even close to as good
And maybe he hasnt faced the same quality of bowling, but you can only perform against what is there, and he has certainly performed
Edit: Probably shouldnt start this this tbh
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PhoenixFire
International Coach
Couldn't agree more. Anyone who puts Hayden near to Hobbs should be sectioned IMO.
PhoenixFire
International Coach
Laughable tbh, who has ever said that?
Ikki
Hall of Fame Member
Not to be too pedantic but Sehwag doesn't average 50 and if anything he doesn't look like he will end up with an average of that or over.We are in an age when someone like Sehwag averages 50 in tests.
Imran would have made a monkey out of him. Holding would have been through his bat and toe every second delivery.
This is an age of 'great' openers if test averages are a criteria. Fifty seems the average kind of average for an average opener today
A question I will ask, what do you think Hayden would average in the 70s/80s era and how well do you think guys like Holding would do now?
Ikki
Hall of Fame Member
What you should be asking is if zeroes like Hayden cannot have their records respected, then heroes like Lara and Tendulkar - to make the comparison obvious - should be disrespected for not taking the same advantages as Hayden. And if you want to compare openers, all of them too.I can understand if you think he is only as good as Slater, maybe even Atherton (Slats is better Atherton by a way imo) but Not even close to as good
And maybe he hasnt faced the same quality of bowling, but you can only perform against what is there, and he has certainly performed
Edit: Probably shouldnt start this this tbh
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The_Bunny
State Regular
Hobbs is the best opener ever by a distance imo.
But who is next is very much conjecture and Hayden is amongst the contenders for mine
Ikki
Hall of Fame Member
Maybe we should convert Pietersen to an opener so we can compare someone to Hobbs, right?
i have seen hayden play as well as gavaskar and i have come to a definite conclusion that hayden is not in the same stratosphere as gavaskar as a batsman and as an opener...