Hayden spots weakness in Zaheer

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AUSTRALIAN opener Matthew Hayden believes his send-off from Zaheer Khan in the Mohali Test revealed a suspect temperament in the Indian quick that can be exploited in the remainder of the Test series. More... Hayden spots weakness in Zaheer By Daniel Brettig October 26, 2008 AUSTRALIAN opener Matthew Hayden believes his send-off from Zaheer Khan in the Mohali Test revealed a suspect temperament in the Indian quick that can be exploited in the remainder of the Test series. Hayden has been dismissed by Zaheer three times in four meagre innings on tour, but he said the way his opponent responded to a brief fourth innings counter-attack last week showed he was still likely to go to pieces if put under pressure. In an innings of 29 that was speckled with boundaries, Hayden wrong-footed Zaheer right from the start by trying to thump his first ball over mid off for six. Seemingly affronted by Hayden's brash approach, Zaheer was an angry man, and when Harbhajan Singh dismissed the batsman he ran from the edge of the fielding circle to confront him - an act that cost him 80 per cent of his match fee. "I have (tried to hit the first ball for six before) ... there's method behind my madness," Hayden said. "Zaheer Khan has been put under pressure a lot by myself and (Adam) Gilchrist in all the tournaments we've played in one-dayers and I've also tried to emulate that when we've played Tests. "I just feel like he's vulnerable when he's like that. His temperament as we saw, it was revealing the other day by his send-off. "He loses consistency and control when he does do that. It's something that even if I don't do that for the rest of the series, it's something that is in the back of his mind. "And I can use that to my advantage." Collectively, the Indians were also put off briefly by Hayden's assault, with captain Mahendra Dhoni setting far-flung fields even though he had 515 runs to play with. "We saw straight away when that happened, there were blokes going in every direction in the outfield," Hayden said. "I guess the challenge then put on me is how do I handle it, if I get through that stage, handle the next phase, then marking that as an opportunity to work and manipulate the ball around." Australia require a marked improvement from their senior players to force their way back into a series the Indians lead 1-0, and Hayden said he and Brett Lee in particular were due to put their hands up. "You've got to have a strong presence from the guys that have been playing for a long time - it's been no different this series," Hayden said. "When you look at it, myself and Binga (Lee) do need to play good cricket. "We're a vital part of that leadership group." Stuart Clark's push to be recalled to the team for the third Test has gathered steam with more bowling at the tourists' morning session on Sunday, and Hayden said the NSW seamer's straightness and bounce would be of great help to a labouring attack. "Taller guys who bowl into the wicket as we have seen with (Ishant) Sharma do make a difference, and a bit of variation in height and bounce can be effective when you've got height into the wicket," he said. "So he will be a big plus assuming that he is fit." AAP

[Sachinism]

Lets see how your new found weakness in Zaheer helps your batting

[Ram]

My dear Aussie Friends, Instead of wasting your time giving pre-scripted comments to the ever-hungry Aussie media desperate for some good news or the other, I suggest you spend that time in the nets and planning sessions trying to figure out how to play better cricket.

[Lurker]

Never been a Zaheer Khan fan. However I must say he has increasingly impressed me with his performance in the recent series(s). Personally what catches my attention is how he has used the antagonism shown by the opposition and has used it to take his performance to the next level. Sure he is very expressive, as he showed after dismissing Hayden in 2nd Test, but that is after he had gotten better of him. And who can forget Jellybeans. If Zaheer Khan carries in the same vein and comes out tops against Hayden he would get upgraded to the next level of players who the opposition refuses to slang because it simply inspires them to take their game to the next level. For now I am putting my money on Zaheer. Get em Zak!

[King Tendulkar]

Hayden you ****. We are 1-0 up. If you spotted this weakness then you should have put it in to place before 1st home you steriod junkie. When Zaheer rips out your middle stump again you are going to get one hell of a send off AGAIN. We will rotate the send offs and this time bhaji is going to give it to you, you obnoxious weed!

[flamy]

Hayden you ****. We are 1-0 up. If you spotted this weakness then you should have put it in to place before 1st home you steriod junkie. When Zaheer rips out your middle stump again you are going to get one hell of a send off AGAIN. We will rotate the send offs and this time bhaji is going to give it to you, you obnoxious weed!

:cantstop:

[punjabi_khota]

Seriously, more than Ponting, more than Son of biaaaatch pup, I would love to see Hayden go down one more time cheaply, his stumps flying halfway to boundary and someone, prolly Bhajji, give him one hell of a send off. seriously..Last time, he was SOOOOOO pissed off it was crazy.

[DomainK]

This statement makes one thing clear. The Australians are scared and can not see any way of beating India in Kotla. The think tank have decided that it is necessary to take the players on where they are inexperienced- mind games. Is there a way for the batsmen to stop Zaheer? They found the answer in the negative and hence decided to put pressure on ZAK and provoke him to put extra effort against one batsman. May be he will be less effective trying to better himself.....trying to answer Hayden. Hayden is a natural selection to bully ZAK. But of late I have seen that such provocation works as fuel for Zaheer. This can backfire for the Aussies, but they have nothing else to do. Desperate measures in desperate times. And yes, I am enjoying this.

[King]

Hayden sounds very worried, that is what I can make out of this. Was't it Hayden that was complaining to the umpires and throwng his hand up in the air when Zaheer got struck into him which is so uncharacterstic? Hayden's body language was not his normal and has looked very vulenrable. I think this series will wear him out if he registers another low score.

[Fontaine]

WOW!! What amazing, profound insight by Mathew Hayden. You mean to say, that when you put a fast bowler under pressure on a flat wicket by slogging the ball around for boundaries then the bowler gets defensive? An amazing deduction by that genius Hayden. Kind of like when the Australian fast bowlers ducked their tails in between their legs and started arguing with their captain who was too busy setting defensive fields after the Indian bastsmen were flaying the ball about huh?

[Fontaine]

This is just more cheap nonsense by the Australians. Ponting, others and now Hayden have specifically called out Indian players in the press, including the Indian captain. How juvenile and childish. How stupid would it sound if Sehwag, Gambhir or Dhoni start making statements to the press about how Lee is just an ordinary bowler in India and how once again Ponting and Hayden look like blind midgets on the batting crease against reverse swing just like they did when the English bowlers ripped them apart? How juvenile and childish would that sound? I always knew Ponting and some guys like Hayden were poor winners but now it looks like they're sore losers as well.

[TaNk]

Hayden will counter Zaheer Matthew Hayden, Australia’s out-of-form opener, wants to continue to test the temperament of Zaheer Khan in the third Test starting Wednesday despite his own struggles against the India fast bowler. Hayden said there was “method behind my madness†in the second innings in Mohali, where he blasted to 29 from 20 balls, as a way of getting on top of Zaheer, who has dismissed him three times in the series. The Australians feel the aggressive approach, which included Hayden charging the first ball of the innings from Zaheer, has worked already. Zaheer was fined 80% of his match fee for his subsequent wild celebration and dance around Hayden when the batsman was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh in the second innings. “His temperament, as we saw, it was revealed the other day by his send-off,†Hayden said. “He loses consistency and control when he does do that. It’s something that even if I don’t do [play aggressively at the start] for the rest of the series, it’s something that is in the back of his mind. And I can use that to my advantage.†Hayden has been able to out-muscle Zaheer in limited-overs tournaments, particularly the 2003 World Cup final, but he has failed to assert himself on this trip. Zaheer removed Hayden for 0, 13 and 0 in his first three innings of the tour before the brief explosion last week. “Zaheer Khan has been put under pressure a lot by myself and [Adam Gilchrist] in all the tournaments we’ve played in one-dayers,†Hayden said. “I’ve also tried to emulate that when we’ve played Tests. I just feel like he’s vulnerable when he’s like that.†Hayden is a target for the Indians and his lean spell is one of the key reasons Australia will start from a 1-0 deficit in Delhi. He will continue to employ “positive intent†with his batting, mainly because India’s influence on the second Test, which the home side won by 320 runs, weakened slightly in the second innings before they recovered and Australia collapsed to 58 for 5. “We saw straight away when that happened, there were blokes going in every direction in the outfield,†he said. “I guess the challenge then put on me is how do I handle it? If I get through that stage, I have to handle the next phase, then mark that as an opportunity to work and manipulate the ball around.†Hayden has devised a strategy for exiting his bad patch and coping with the changing nature of an innings in India. He stayed at the team hotel in Delhi instead of travelling during the three-day break and focussed on his determination to “bat longâ€. “There are three unique stages of the game here that I have had a bit more of a think about,†he said. “If you watch the way Virender Sehwag goes about his cricket, or any of them go about their cricket, the new ball is there to be hit. With the flatter ball, from 15 overs to 50 overs, there is a lot of use of pace, a lot of nudging into gaps, and not so many big scoring areas down the ground and in front of the wicket. “Then it is the softer ball and spinning ball, which is the stage I really want to get involved in. I know it's a stage where I have got a great strength, being able to manipulate the spin and manipulate the ball even though it is soft.†Hayden will not restructure his overall outlook, but he has thought about the changes necessary to cope with balls moving back into him. Zaheer and Ishant Sharma have troubled all of Australia’s batsmen with their significant reverse-swing and the home side’s supremacy is due to the performance of the attack. “Technically there are some things that you need to do differently,†he said. “The traditional batsmen like myself and Ricky [Ponting], who take our heads and feet to the line of the ball, are vulnerable if you actually get a ball swinging or seaming back into the stumps. “The ball is not going over the stumps here. The reason why we do that in Australia is to cover the bounce. If you stay inside the line of the ball with your feet going down the wicket, you just get nicked off for fun. Here you just hedge your bets a bit with the way your feet are going to go, then use your hands and eyes to hit the ball. That’s the subtle difference of playing cricket on wickets that don’t bounce.†What is most important for Australia is the senior men contribute as a unit. Hayden and Brett Lee have been unable to do that in the series while Ponting also had a quiet game in Mohali. “When you look at it, myself and Binga do need to play good cricket,†he said. “We’re a vital part of that leadership group.â€

[DomainK]

If you watch the way Virender Sehwag goes about his cricket, or any of them go about their cricket, the new ball is there to be hit. With the flatter ball, from 15 overs to 50 overs, there is a lot of use of pace, a lot of nudging into gaps, and not so many big scoring areas down the ground and in front of the wicket.

Yup.....learn a few things from Sehwag. Its never too late.:giggle:

[THX_1138]

the last time i had my **** whopped not once but thrice, i scurried away and persevered till i was in a position to reply with greater aptitude... i dont recall spotting any chinks the armor of my nemesis during that harrowing ordeal... i do hope we end hayden here... it is wishful thinking since his spot is not really under threat (phil jacques could cure world hunger and yet find himself out of the squad), but let us severely wound this big mouthed buffoon so that he can return to some aussie radio station and spew crap from both ends again.

[triam]

Prolific Indian Batsman has key to counter Mendis Prolific Indian Batsman and famous messageboard Triam states he has unlocked the secret of not giving his wicket to Srilankan Mystery spinner and India’s nemesis in the recently concluded Test Series. According to Triam the key not to lose wickets to Mendis is not to play in the game, “ I have been playing cricket for the last 15 years, yet I have never lost my wicket to Ajantha Mendis” he states. There is a “Reason for that” says Triam, “If I don’t play him how can he get me out?” Triam is used to not getting out to Mendis or other notable International performers by doing exactly this for more than a decade. “Me and Fontaine have been successful in deploying this strategy for a long time, if we don’t play Mendis cant get us out” says Triam to our correspondent. “And we believe Mendis is extremely frustrated with this”. Triam will not change his approach in the near future, “I say don’t fix it, if it aint broke”. HE also says “I can proudly state that by the end of my cricketing career, I would never give my wicket to Mendis” He also believes now that the word is out, more of the international cricketers will follow suit.

[manoj_admlab]

Hayden's thinking short of a length Patrick Smith | October 28, 2008 http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24561411-12270,00.html EVERYTHING seems lost even before the third Test has begun. Brett Lee cannot bowl fast, Stuart Clark might not be able to bowl at all, Matthew Hayden - who has made 42 runs in four innings - thinks that Indian bowler Zaheer Khan is vulnerable and, God forbid, the nation might need to play its No1 spinner Jason Krejza. Just how such a dominant nation has come to the edge of so meekly relinquishing its position is damning of Australia's cricket administration. In the first Test Ricky Ponting's side could not impose itself on the Indian tail and a chance of victory petered out. In the second Test everybody agrees - Australian captain to Indian skipper - that the tourists were outplayed in every element of Test cricket. It is almost that Australia is in denial. Hayden, who has made 0, 13, 0, and 29, has said that he believes he has Zaheer Khan on the back foot. For the record the Australian opener has made 17 fewer runs than Zaheer, who bats when no one else can. And who has batted half as many times. With the ball Zaheer has taken 10 wickets - more than any Australian and second only to Ishant Sharma - at the very good average of 26. Hayden's diagnosis that Zaheer is on the point of a nervous breakdown is based on the bowler's abuse of him when the Australian was dismissed for 29 in the second innings of the second Test. Hayden apparently had brought Zaheer to this brink when he charged his first ball of the second innings. That the ball was mis-hit and looped dangerously close to mid-off was, it seems, a victory for Hayden and not the bowler. Said Hayden: "Zaheer Khan has been put under pressure a lot by myself and Gilly (Adam Gilchrist) in all the tournaments we've played in one-dayers. I have also tried to emulate that when we've played Tests. I just feel he is vulnerable when he's like that." Not only is it such graceless gibberish, it is also foolish. Unable to bully India as it has in the old days, the veterans of the team hanker for the good times when they could back up their words with significant deeds. Times change. Australia has no response to losing other than a childish attempt to bully its way back to the top. In victory it has learnt to gloat and nothing else. Then you read, almost in disbelief, that the Australian coaching brains trust think that Lee's lack of wickets is due to a loss of ability to bowl fast. Said the skipper Ricky Ponting: "Because he's been a bit underdone he's been bowling a bit at half- and three-quarter pace at training, concentrating on his technique trying to do everything right. But by doing that he's probably taught himself to bowl slow.

[vadodaravictor]

:yay::yay: BCCI can save some money on coaches if Australian team continues to spot weaknesses in Indian team.

[vsd2006]

Hayden will not score a total of 10 runs in the delhi test. Zak will take him both times. Hayden aint sure which way it is going when ZAK bowls