Matthew Hayden Reveals The Sledge He Used To Dish Out On Shoaib Akhtar That 'Got Under His Skin'

Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden is no stranger to sledging his opponents. As much as Matthew Hayden ran his mouth, he possessed the skills to back it up, pummelling the bowlers fearlessly and smash sixes at will. In the Grade Cricketer podcast, the southpaw recalled his sledging episode against Shoaib Akhtar during the Sharjah Test of 2002.

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Meanwhile, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar was no less when it comes to sledging. The Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhter was one of the fastest bowlers to have ever graced the game and terrorized bowlers with his lethal pace.

After his follow-through, included words and some heated face-offs. Over the years, Akhtar has indulged in sledging episodes with Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, Ricky Ponting, and Virender Sehwag.

Matthew Hayden revealed that he used to call Shoaib Akhtar a B-Grade Actor, which used to rile him up. Hayden elaborated that when in Sharjah in 2002, the teams walked out amid the scorching heat, the speedster vowed to kill him. The Queensland batsman reacted by welcoming the challenge with open arms.

“Someone like Akhtar for example, I’d call him ‘B-grade actor’ for a start, which used to get under his skin a bit. We were playing in Sharjah and it was 58 degrees out in the middle and Akhtar, when we walked out, said, ‘I’m going to kill you today’ in a whole lot more colourful language. And I said, ‘Mate, that’s terrific, you know I’m looking forward to that challenge’ in a lot more colourful language,” Hayden stated.

You’ve got 18 balls to do it: Matthew Hayden

The 103-Test veteran went on to warn Shoaib that he has got 18 balls to clean him up since after that he would rise to dominate him. As far as the match is concerned, Australia blew Pakistan away by an innings and 198 runs. Waqar Younis’ men recorded scores of 59 and 53 as Steve Waugh’s side batted only once, scoring 310 of which Matthew Hayden scored 119.

“So I said, ‘But here’s the thing, Dumbo. You’ve got 18 balls to do it. You’ve got three overs because you’re going to turn into a marshmallow that’s been left on the plane too long and is going to be dripping down and I’m going to be the one at the other end of those 18 balls that’s going to be mopping it up’,” the two-time World Cup-winner added.

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