Melbourne: The Indians may have done exceptionally well to reduce Australia to 337 for nine in the opening cricket Test but Matthew Hayden reckons the visitors will also find the going tough on a pitch that will "definitely get difficult to bat on over the next few days.”Hayden stood out among the Aussie batsmen to score a dominating 124 and gave a healthy start to his team by putting on a 135-run opening stand with Phil Jaques. But the hosts could not capitalise on the solid foundation on the first day. "I think we've lost a few too many wickets, there's no doubt about that, but in my mind it was a difficult enough wicket and those conditions will be revealed over the next four days," Hayden said after the opening day's play."The fact is we are facing quite a difficult wicket. It's definitely a par effort (Australia's score), but maybe one or two more wickets down. I think it is going to be a wicket that will be definitely hard to score on over the next few days," he said. Hayden said with the wicket getting slower, Australia would make life difficult for the visiting batsmen. "They are going to be slow conditions, they are going to be challenging for run-scoring and I think you will see Australia putting the pressure with good in-out fields and really try to constrict India", he said."I definitely think the pitch is going to deteriorate, just looking at it, and it is definitely going to be difficult to bat on over the last day," Hayden said.The 36-year-old opener, who overtook former skipper Allan Border in terms of most Test centuries scored by the Australians, said he was well-prepared for the Boxing Day Test."I've built this particular match up in my mind more than any other, it announces the summer, it's the vibe of the ground, the spirit of Christmas, having your families around, I just think it's one of those events that I really enjoy. I really enjoy playing spin bowling, and the majority of overs today were spin on a first-day wicket as well," he added. Wednesday, December 26, 2007
India will find it tough, says Hayden
Melbourne: The Indians may have done exceptionally well to reduce Australia to 337 for nine in the opening cricket Test but Matthew Hayden reckons the visitors will also find the going tough on a pitch that will "definitely get difficult to bat on over the next few days.”Hayden stood out among the Aussie batsmen to score a dominating 124 and gave a healthy start to his team by putting on a 135-run opening stand with Phil Jaques. But the hosts could not capitalise on the solid foundation on the first day. "I think we've lost a few too many wickets, there's no doubt about that, but in my mind it was a difficult enough wicket and those conditions will be revealed over the next four days," Hayden said after the opening day's play."The fact is we are facing quite a difficult wicket. It's definitely a par effort (Australia's score), but maybe one or two more wickets down. I think it is going to be a wicket that will be definitely hard to score on over the next few days," he said. Hayden said with the wicket getting slower, Australia would make life difficult for the visiting batsmen. "They are going to be slow conditions, they are going to be challenging for run-scoring and I think you will see Australia putting the pressure with good in-out fields and really try to constrict India", he said."I definitely think the pitch is going to deteriorate, just looking at it, and it is definitely going to be difficult to bat on over the last day," Hayden said.The 36-year-old opener, who overtook former skipper Allan Border in terms of most Test centuries scored by the Australians, said he was well-prepared for the Boxing Day Test."I've built this particular match up in my mind more than any other, it announces the summer, it's the vibe of the ground, the spirit of Christmas, having your families around, I just think it's one of those events that I really enjoy. I really enjoy playing spin bowling, and the majority of overs today were spin on a first-day wicket as well," he added. 