Matthew Lawrence Hayden (born October 29, 1971) is an Australian and Queensland cricketer. He is a powerful left hand batsman, known for his ability to score quickly at both Test and one day level, particularly over the mid on region and with the sweep shot. He is also a solid fielder in the slips or gully region.

Hayden debuted for the Australian team in the 1993/94 season. He has always been a strong player at state level, but initially struggled at international level, until the 2001 series in India. Since then, he has been a regular in both the Test and one day sides.

Until recently, he held the world record for the highest Test score, 380, which he scored in Perth against Zimbabwe in 2003. It narrowly eclipsed the previous best, 375, held by Brian Lara of the West Indies. Lara, however, reclaimed the record with 400 at St John's, Antigua on April 12, 2004 against England.

Hayden has been involved in the Australian side that won the 2003 World Cup, and the Test side that recorded the record number of consecutive wins. In 2001 he scored a then Australian record of 1391 runs in Test matches, and subsequently won the Allan Border Medal as the best Australian player of the year. Hayden was also one of Wisden's five 2003 Cricketers of the Year.

As of February 2004, he has played 50 Test matches, with a batting average of 58.28, including 17 hundreds and 14 fifties. In one day internationals, he has scored 4 hundreds and 20 fifties at an average of 42.27.

External links

1. Cricinfo Player Profile : Matthew Lawrence Hayden