Hayden

Matthew Hayden retired yesterday. Hayden, who debuted in the early nineties but never really made his mark till the 2001 tour of India was not the kind of cricketer you like. At least I didn't. Built like a Bollywood villain's sidekick that you had to contend with before you got to the real bad guys, that is what I considered him for quite sometime till it was clear that he was the actual villain. Hayden scored a lot of centuries (30 to be exact) but never really captured my imagination like the Waugh brothers, Ponting, Martyn, Slater or even Langer, all batsmen much more fun to watch. Not only was he indelicate to watch as a batsman, he was also a smug, unpleasant character who I doubt ever won the affections of the rival teams or spectators. He was huge, bullish, and in your face and representative of all the things we hated about the Australians. He was also a fascinating orator and came up with the most entertaining or irritating comments especially in the last leg of his career. Here are some.

Some self effacing ones:

“The zone to me is pretty much every time I go out to bat.”

“As fine a cricketer as I am right now, I don’t think as a young player I had it right.”

“I think, more than anything, I am such a weapon here, because when I started attacking, they just got so defensive.”

“I think this series is tailor-made for guys like me.”

....some gay ones:

"We are always getting the pressure from behind us... I love playing with these blokes, and to me, I'm just not ready to let it go just yet."

...and the others, just bizzare:

“I want to see Ricky Ponting going like that when he wins and plays for Australia. That’s the heat of the battle, that’s Test cricket, that’s the enormous passion and enthusiasm that gets played from all games of cricket, you see it even in backyard cricket.”

“When I finish cricket I don’t want to have to be in a game where everything is robots and robotic.”

"I've never been in better shape. So to me it's a really good sign, not only in terms of where I'm at, but my commitment to the game and the commitment to the summer as well."

“Ultimately it will be my call to look at the bloke that talks to yourself every day in the mirror and say ‘mate it is time to go’ or ’saddle up, pull your socks up and get on with it, you’ve got South Africa and you’ve got the Ashes’.”

“That little voice deep inside will keep kicking Matthew Hayden along.”

“Matthew Hayden in 1991 worked as hard as he works in 2008. And that guarantees you at least the best result in terms of how you prepare yourself, but it doesn’t guarantee success.”

“We all enjoy celebrating. What has changed now is we have taken it to a new level in terms of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s professionally.”

“When you get to my age, you get to a point where the next 12 months is a long, long way away.”

“In a lot of ways, to me off-field, if that’s affecting him that’s a good thing for Hayden because I don’t feel like I’m harbouring any massive resentment.” (something to do with Harbhajan)

“He obviously loves cricket and it’s so healthy to know I can be here and he can be there and we can mutually enjoy each others sports.”
(This about Usain Bolt!)

“At the end of the day, two alpha dogs are never going to sit in a cage and not look at each other. It is what it is. The way I see my cricket, if you’re the other alpha dog, you better not blink. I feel I’d be letting down my country if I was to blink.”


Still, the guy scored 30 centuries. That's more than Bradman, Richards, Boycott, Sobers, Dravid or Kallis. You've got to admire that. No, not admire, respect. Hmm..not really respect, acknowledge. Not acknowldge, resent. Yeah that's the word.

The Historic Trip To Town Part - I

"I feel like having a zinger burger."
"We could go now."

The above dialogue occurred at 3:45 am on an April morning and was the beginning of events which led to what, in the coming years was to be referred to as the 'historic trip to town.' In retrospect, I also consider it as the time when things began to change between us.

When one likes another and another is aware of it, the pretense involved between them is of a most fascinating sort. Another is aware that one likes another but chooses to keep mum about it. Neither make any mention of it whatsoever. It is one of those things which everyone knows but has a sacred tacit status accorded to it when the two relevant parties are present together. One will mope and sigh about it in front of others yet act as if he was guarding the secret with his life in front of another. Many an hours are spent by one going over whether another is aware of his affections, analysing inane conversations several times over. Another, meanwhile acts quietly unaware of the whole thing in front of one, at times not being able to resist asking seemingly innocent questions probing at the heart of the matter, yet always unsure of how much she wants to 'finds' out.

Therefore, nighttime conversations became the norm without registering too much surprise on either side.

"You know, I like talking to you. We should work out a deal that we talk all night till you get married."
"Looks like you want to seriously injure my health."
"Insomnia is healthy. Look at me. How is your boyfriend incidentally?"