Test great Matthew Hayden said Monday he had "dodged a bullet" after suffering head and neck injuries, including a spine fracture, while surfing during a holiday in Queensland. Hayden, a top-order batsman who was last year inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, fractured his spine near the base of his neck, tore several ligaments and hurt his forehead after being dumped into a sandbank while surfing with his son Josh off North Stradbroke Island on Friday.

"Fractured C6, torn C5, C4 ligaments safe to say I truly have dodged a bullet," Hayden wrote in an Instagram post beside a photo of his battered face. "Thank you everyone. On the road to recovery." The 46-year-old, who retired from international cricket in 2009 after a 103-Test career, told Brisbane's Courier Mail he was "bloody lucky" to escape serious injury.