Critics have been baying for his head, but Australian opener Matthew Hayden says he wants to carry on as he believes he has the responsibility to usher in a new generation.
Critics have been baying for his head, but Australian opener Matthew Hayden says he wants to carry on as he believes he has the responsibility to usher in a new generation.
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"It's our jobs as senior players to base and create a foundation in the baggy green ... which as senior players we have to instill," Hayden said.
"There's a responsibility for senior players to stand up," he added. Hayden even got support from unexpected quarters with South African coach Micky Arthur backing him to play in the Ashes this year.
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Arthur is worried by the prospect of a Hayden returning to form in the third Test at the SCG as he claimed South Africa's ability to subdue the batting veteran had plunged Australian cricket into crisis with their first home series loss after 1992-93.
"We are fearing a resurgent Matthew Hayden at the SCG. Hayden is a legend of the game. I know he is a fighter and it looks like his Test career is on the line. Hayden and Graeme Smith are the two guys in world cricket with the most presence.
"When they play well the others follow. We are expecting Hayden to come out fighting. Our ability to keep Hayden under pressure has given us the ability to win two games out of two," he was quoted as saying by the 'Daily Telegraph'.
Arthur said the opener is the man who can save Australian cricket with a momentous fight for the Ashes looming. "I think Australia need him for the Ashes.
You need his experience for a series like that, especially if you are bringing in a couple of new guys.
"You need experienced hands and Hayden is one of those experienced hands," Arthur said. Hayden conceded he has been dreadfully out of touch with just 79 runs from seven innings, but pointed out he had thrived after being written off before.
"I have been written off many times and I have really loved and thrived on the fact that I have come back. I felt like through my career I have never been first picked in the side.
"This five days (in the third Test), for me it's all I'm concentrating on, and then whatever comes after that, that's a new day. I am going to go in with a certain strategy and a clear mind and enjoy whatever result may come."
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