Was Matthew Hayden as good as the revered West Indian cricket great Sir Vivian Richards?

Was Queensland cricket great Matthew Hayden as good as revered West Indian legend Sir Vivian Richards?

Was Queensland cricket great Matthew Hayden as good as revered West Indian legend Sir Vivian Richards?

Richards is rightly adored by those who watched him bat and field over a glittering 17 year Test cricket spanning 1974-91.

The original Master Blaster, Richards could rip an attack apart like a lion taking down its prey on the African plains.

And it was not just the runs he scored, but the manner in which he scored them.

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He was brutal with the blade and could demolish an attack, lowering the spirits of bowlers and fieldsmen while lifting the morale of his own dressing room.

Richard was also a panther prowling the covers who famously ran out four Australian batsmen in the 1975 World Cup one-day final.

Matthew Hayden celebrates yet another fine century.

But if you swapped the Richards name in every sentence above and replaced it with Matthew Hayden, would you not be describing Hayden’s career?

Richards is a great, but Hayden, a Marist College Ashgrove old boy and past Valley player, loses very, very little in comparison with the West Indian legend.

Consider the following.

Physical presence: Like muscle bound Richards, Hayden was a big man who had a presence at the crease. In 1993-94, when a veteran South African journalist saw Hayden for the first time, he immediately drew comparisons with another giant left hander of world cricket, South African legend Graeme Pollock.

Aggression: Like Richards, Hayden was prepared to be aggressive from ball one.

He’d take on the opposition’s No. 1 bowler to try and gain an advantage for both his innings, but to also send a positive message to his teammates.

Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden. (NAP EX NEWSMEL)

Fielding: In his prime Richards was supreme in the covers before reverting to the slips where his razor sharp reflexes took over. Hayden was not as athlete as Richards across the ground, but with a big stride he covered ground quickly and had no peer when returning the ball from the boundary to his keeper. He was a superb boundary ride in one-day cricket and a magnificent gully fieldsman.

Technique: Richards wins the technique debate. He had a more classical stance and style, but Hayden evolved from a player who was once tied down in limited overs cricket, to someone who absolutely dominated the short form of the game.

Power: Richards was the Master Blaster but Hayden’s nickname could well have been Hurricane.

Batting records: The eras were different, but on pure statistics Richards and Hayden are similar.

Viv Richards in action during the 1979 Cricket World Cup Final between the West Indies and England at Lords. Picture: Adrian Murrell/Allsport UK

Viv Richards:

Tests: 121 matches, 24 100s, 45 50s, 8540 runs at 50.23.

One-day: 187 matches, 11 100s, 45 50s, 6721 runs at 47 (strike rate 90.20).

Matthew Hayden:

Tests: 103 matches, 30 100s, 29 50s, 8625 runs at 50.73

One-day: 161 matches, 10 100s, 36 50s, 6133 runs at 43.80 (strike rate 78.96).

Statistics only tell part of a story.

For example, people say Steve Smith is the best batsman since Sir Bradman because he has the best batting average since Sir Donald Bradman.

But Smith plays on small fields with big bats against bowlers inferior to those faced, for example, by Neil Harvey, Greg Chappell and Ricky Ponting.

GPS CRICKET COVERAGE, ROUND ONE

Harvey also played on uncovered pitches, Greg Chappell superlative World Series Cricket statistics are not included in his numbers while Ponting played on full fields.

Richards played in an area when every nation had a world class bowler and allrounder, but there is absolutely no doubt Hayden deserves to be mentioned in the same breathe as the legendary West Indian because there is very little, if anything, between the pair.

AIC CRICKET COVERAGE: Matthew Hayden was a product of the AIC system through attending school at Marist College Ashgrove. The AIC cricket season starts tomorrow, Saturday. Andrew Dawson will be covering matches and reporting for both the Quest Community Newspapers and The Courier-Mail online sites each Saturday night.