Top teams perform on tour, not just at home: Hayden

IMAGE: Indian players celebrate with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after winning the Test series against Australia in March 2023. Photo: BCCI

Indian batsman Virat Kohli and Australia’s Steve Smith would be keen to make their mark in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series, where runs “will be scarce”, believes Australian great Matthew Hayden.

Hayden, who is regarded as one of the best season openers of his era, believed that Kohli and Smith are both dominant in their own right and hold the key to the rest of the series Down Under.

“Cricket is a sport of momentum and I am sure these two players, who are now coming to the end of their cricketing careers, will do everything they can to dominate the landscape in the summer,” Hayden said on the sidelines of the Ceat Cricket Rating Awards on Wednesday.

“That’s their nature. They do it in very different ways, very different styles, but they are certainly the key to the Australian summer,” he said.

India and Australia will play their first five-Test series since 1991-92, starting in Perth on November 22. Hayden said it will be difficult to determine which team will have the upper hand.

“You look at the line-ups and it’s hard to really say who’s got the upper hand. I feel like it’s going to be the runs that make the difference. Guys who were sure bets have retired, like (Cheteshwar) Pujara was a sure bet in Australian conditions,” he said.

“Was he exciting? No. Was he effective? Definitely. If you look back over the years, guys like Raul Dravid, VVS Laxman… were really sure bets in our market. The best have to hold out in this series, runs will be scarce,” he said.

Hayden said the Australian players will do everything they can to end their poor run against India as they last won a bilateral series in 2014-15.

“We haven’t had it (the trophy) in our hands for two series in Australia, which is kind of the coveted ground. Not that it compares to the Steve Waugh era here in 2001, where this was the hallowed turf, this was a place Australia really wanted to come and win,” he said.

“And his great era didn’t. There’s always a fantastic opportunity for the No. 1 (and) No. 2 teams in the World Test Championship to go head to head, particularly overseas in each other’s camps and see who really has that last rights…

“…not just to take the opportunity to play the (World) Test Championship (final), but also to determine who is the very best. You judge that by how you tour, not so much by how you play at home,” he said.

Nathan Lyon vs. Yashasvi Jaiswal

IMAGE: Yashasvi Jaiswal in action for India against England earlier this year. Photo: BCCI

With Nathan Lyon now set to dominate young Yashasvi Jaiswal, Hayden said it was the right move as the opening batsman is proving himself as an ‘asset’ for Indian cricket.

“Isn’t it great that the series is shaping up to be the bare-heavyweight competition, someone like the GOAT (Lyon) going after (Jaiswal), who I think is one of the biggest assets for Indian cricket. Yes, he is definitely proving to be that,” he said.

Hayden said while Jaiswal’s ability to hit the ball from top to bottom is special, he will have to adapt given the length of the borders in Australia.

“Young Jaiswal is an exciting prospect to see how he plays. He is a package. His ability to get through the covers in particular is phenomenal. That will have its vulnerabilities as well,” Hayden said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how he adapts on bouncy pitches. We saw in the IPL that he’s a very hard hitter, particularly pull shots, but that will be challenged by three world-class speedsters, assuming they’re all fit and playing on much bigger pitches.

“It has to be almost perfect contact to get that ball sailing over (for a) six so that you can get caught easily, three-quarters of the way into the fence. They (all have) little adjustments that world-class players like Jazzy (Jaiswal) will definitely make,” he said.

‘Australia will miss Warner’

IMAGE: David Warner in action on Lord’s cricket ground during the 2023 Ashes Series. Photo: BCCI

Hayden said Australia will miss David Warner, who announced his retirement from international cricket in July.

“For the first time it (the opening slot) doesn’t feel so safe. David Warner has delivered a great service to Australian cricket. He has delivered a service that was extremely competitive, wonderfully dynamic,” he said.

“He’s really taken that legacy that I created in the 2000s to a new level, with strike rates of over 80 and he’s given a lot of momentum to the top order, which is otherwise quite conservative. He’s a huge loss in terms of how you replace him,” Hayden added.

Hayden said he had reservations about Smith’s emergence as a choice for the opener’s slot. Smith has played at No. 4 for most of his career but was moved to the opening slot after Warner retired from Test cricket.

“I’ve said on the record that I don’t like switching. I think it’s crazy to think that you have the best batsman in the world in one position and then you switch to a completely different position,” he said.