Apparently 'haydos' spent all his money on renovations and he needs the money, sad really! I cant see him doing well, i like him but hes gained 10-15kg and looksreally old, lost his rep! I hope he does ok but not looking likley

This will turn out to be another damp squid..just like Jayasuriya's attempt.

good post !! Hayden is one of my favorite players... I hope he succeeds in this endeavor...would love to see him play again for chennai super kings :-)

Very well written article and a brilliant insight.I feel that by exposing his business motives and aligning his so-called healthy lifestyle business image,with a fast food company,that his reputation has already taken a hit.I wonder at the the legality of him being a joint proposer of the BBL as a board member of CA and Queensland Cricket and a convener of a possible franchise.It seems a blatant conflict of interests with australian cricket interests at stake and a possible case of insider trading.In any event,as a business proposition,it warrants investigation by the ACCC.It seems possible that his only motivation in playing is to connect his image with the franchise before retirement.Regardless,he made 95 runs total in his last nine games for Chennai in the IPL.If he succeeds now,they can feel duly duped,given his apparent ability to score runs at will.The IPL is also well below test and oneday standard.Like Greg Chappell more recently,Hayden just became a lot less great for me.

michael i never knew that you played competitive cricket ... :) .... anyways, this was an outstanding piece, brilliantly detailed yet succinct. now we know a lot more about haydos. I always enjoyed watching him bat. he and langer were the only two openers who never flinched in the eye of genuine pace bowling.

Good going Heydos, welcome back. This is a wonderful piece, well written. Let's all emulate the Hayden way of doing things.

@Ramesh its actually damp "squib" mate, not "squid" but I agree with you none the less. I have heard a few stories about Hayden that share similar themes. Sort of like a prizefighters mindset really. I dont think he is alone on the international scene in having either. By all accounts KP is very similar.

I feel his business interests might have persuaded him to try his hand out on the field one more time. After all, what better way to advertise it than with on field success!. Even though he hasn't been actively playing at any serious level since 2010 IPL, he must be feeling confident of his chances, or else he wouldn't be trying now. Anyway, I wish him good luck.

I never really liked Hayden that much when he played for Australia, and I'm not interested in seeing him in the BBL. But it's not about pleasing me, and no doubt there are plenty of people out there who would like to see Hayden again, willow in hand. Good luck to him - after a couple of years out of top level cricket, he'll need it.

I think Hayden's unpleasant response to Aravinda da Silva, one of the games real greats, doing something other than bullying average attacks on flat pitches demonstrates that, whilst he may be fondly remembered in Australia, he remains loathed in pretty much every other corner of the cricketing world.

I agree with Prashad! Haddo's has lost hair and gained weight

@ramesh - Jayasuriya had a national government, in which he was an MP, include him in the national side. To describe that as pathetic would be an understatement. This being a franchise, city-based system, Hayden's playing is a clever way of attracting QLD cricket fans to follow the new franchise, like Tendulkar with Mumbai - the both men are icons in their respective teams' hometowns.

@"hyclass" - he has already resigned both Board posts with Queensland Cricket and CA prior to attempting to purchase an interest in the Brisbane Heat. Further, if there was any issue of insider trading, it would warrant investigation by ASIC, NOT the ACCC.

All that aside, a good article reflecting some of the origins of Hayden's belligerent style. Someone with that level of self-confidence would ordinarily be considered arrogant and a braggart. This article effectively demosntrates how he was able to recover so emphatically from his initially being dropped from the test-side in the early nineties.

Hayden was probably the most hated figure in Aussie cricket, and for good reason, I doubt that he would be welcomed with open arms in England, South Africa, India , Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He embodied the worst of Australian cricket. Don't forget, the whole world hated Australia for a long time, because they were graceless, arrogant and full of themselves, and we all saw the Aussie umpires giving them the most ridiculous LBW and caught decisions. The reason why Umpires have to be neutral is because of Australia, never forget that. Australia changed umpiring forever, I hope you're proud of that.

Well written Michael,Hope you remembered me

Never compare Haydos with sanath.....haydos is gonna pull off one of the greatest comeback as he did it for CSK....come on Haydos show....all the best....

Well written Fox.. Matthew Hayden will prove to be an enormous success in the big bash. Not only does Haydos have great confidence in his ability, his work ethic is second to none. There is no doubt he will be hitting thousands of balls on the bowling machine leading into the season..
Matthew will once again dominate!!

your kidding yourself "waterbuffalo". the reason we have neutral umpires isnt because of australians, its because visiting teams to the Sub-Continent couldnt get an LBW decision. I wish Haydos all the best, as its exactly what the BBL needs and that some iconic players. Bring back Gilly & Warney while we are at it.

Waterbuffalo, you're comments resemble the product of the backend of the waterbuffalo. Neutral umpires were actually introduced by Imran Khan who invited John Holder and John Hampshire to officiate a Pakistan vs India series. I'd further draw your attention to Mike Gatting's and Alan Border's difficulties with umpiring on the sub-continent. By the way neutral umpiring has slightly lifted the win rates of home teams.

agree with sunil and big fella

If that man really wants it...he will get it again.

That would be a damp squib Ramesh. A squib is a type of firework so the expectation is that there will be an explosion but when damp it will simply smoke a little and fail to go off. Much like master Hayden one suspects.

Your aneswr lifts the intelligence of the debate.