Australian cricket legend Matthew Hayden has been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, joining six other notable cricketers. The announcement was made on Monday evening. Hayden, who is now 53, had a remarkable 16-year career as an opening batter for Australia.
During his illustrious playing days, Hayden briefly held the record for the highest Test score, notching up an impressive 380 runs against Zimbabwe in Perth. He also made significant contributions to Australia’s 2007 ODI World Cup victory, hitting three centuries throughout the tournament. Over his Test career, he scored 8,625 runs with an impressive average of 50.73, while accumulating 6,133 runs in ODIs at an average of 43.80.
Hayden’s induction marks a significant achievement alongside other greats in the game, including India’s MS Dhoni, South Africa’s captains Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla, New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori, Sarah Taylor from England, and Sana Mir, the first woman from Pakistan to receive this honour. Mir expressed her pride, reflecting on her journey from dreaming of a women’s cricket team to being revered among her idols.
Dhoni’s leadership for India is unparalleled, with his captaincy leading to victories in the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup. He presided over a period during which India maintained the top spot in Test rankings for 18 months, earning a spot in the ODI and T20 world teams of the decade in 2019.
Graeme Smith, who became South Africa’s youngest captain at just 22, has led the team in a record 109 Test matches, securing 53 wins, including a historic series victory in Australia in 2008-09 while playing with a broken hand. Amla’s remarkable record includes scoring South Africa’s first triple century, reaching 311 against England at the Oval in 2012, along with topping the ODI rankings.
Vettori made history by becoming New Zealand’s youngest Test debutant at 18, later achieving the remarkable feat of being one of only three players to take 300 Test wickets while also amassing over 4000 runs. Sarah Taylor has set the benchmark for women wicketkeepers, boasting 232 dismissals to her name and playing vital roles in England’s 2009 ODI and T20 World Cup victories, as well as their ODI World Cup win in 2017.
Sana Mir has been a pivotal figure in Pakistan cricket, captaining the team for seven of her 15-year tenure and leading to two Asian Games victories. Initially a pace bowler, she transitioned to off-spin due to a stress fracture and retired as Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs, demonstrating her significant impact on the sport.