OTD | Matthew Hayden played his best innings of 380 runs against Zimbabwe in 2003

In October of 2003, Zimbabwe was on a grueling tour to Australia. In the first test match in Perth, Australia bludgeoned past Zimbabwe to win the test match. The main protagonist of this victory was Matthew Hayden. This was a historical test match for both Australia and Hayden. Hayden broke the record of the highest score in an innings of a test match. He surpassed Brian Lara to create that record. 

Zimbabwean captain Heath Streak won the toss and chose to field first. This decision backfired big time as Hayden was in no mood to spare Chevron’s bowlers. The charismatic opening pair of Langer and Hayden started off the Australian innings but Langer could not convert the start that he got and was dismissed by Sean Ervine with a jaffer of a delivery. Hayden was unperturbed and continued his innings with Ricky Ponting. They added 59 runs with their partnership before Ponting was caught wanting in front of the wicket. 

Damien Martyn and Captain Steve Waugh played handsome knocks and both scored half-centuries. Hayden was solid at the other end and he was smashing the opposition bowlers without any trouble. Hard-hitting Hayden was joined by swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist. When Gilchrist walked in Australia was in a very comfortable position. Half of the Australian side was back in the pavilion but not before putting up 500 runs on the board. Gilchrist took advantage of this and along with Hayden, they scored quick runs to take the Australian total beyond 700. Australia declared the innings on 735/6. Eventually, the Aussies proved to be too much for Zimbabwe and pulled off an easy victory. 

But this test will always be remembered for “Hayden Heroics.” At that time Hayden was just the second man to score a triple century on Australian soil. Hayden’s legacy is not bound to just this innings but this knock has played a huge role in defining the warrior that he was. His record was ultimately overtaken by the man from Trinidad, Brian Charles Lara, once again but Hayden’s innings will always be remembered as one the most dominant batting performances in the long history of test cricket.