A man who carries out trust, peace and a nurturing conduct, from all angles, looks like a perfect match with Pakistan players responding to his impact. You need to take a look at his viral speech after Pakistan’s final group stage match.
Pakistan came within an inch of reaching the World Cup final last year, and have gone a step further by booking a date with England at the MCG finale this year. They have done so despite facing back-to-back last-ball defeats to India and Zimbabwe in their first two matches.
Matthew Hayden’s long-time teammate and broadcast associate Brett Lee said there was nothing coincidental about Pakistan’s eventual rise. “I am not surprised that Pakistan is a better unit under Haydos,” Lee told foxsports.com.au on Friday.
Because he is such an inspiring character. “He’s always been like that. He has always been a leader. He’s always been a person who speaks from the heart and a person who would call it when it wasn’t right. And I like that about Hados. There is a lot of transparency.
Lee lined up with Hayden on many of cricket’s biggest occasions, from the World Cup to the Ashes, to the Boxing Day Test. Hayden would rise to another level in a high-pressure environment during his tenure, like when he scored 203 against India in Chennai, when the 2001 Test series was tied at 1-1.
Brett Lee said, “He was a big match player. He loved this big opportunity. He wasn’t impressed by the large crowd and stature of playing in the World Cup, Ashes or Boxing Day Test,” Lee said.
“His record in those big and big matches will be one of the best of his career because he knew how to divide things and put them in perspective to do the best out of him as an athlete.
“From playing at the highest level in these pressure situations, he has learnt all these things that he has now given Pakistan, it has to back himself, play with that freedom,” Lee said. I can almost hear the words he’s saying about that confidence to express to people in the changeroom as an athlete and to be the best version of himself.
While a lot of people arrive at those big situations, and we saw it with India, where they second-guess themselves, they hesitate, they are a little affected by the situation. Some people it brings the best of them, and the one person it brought the best was Matthew Hayden.