'Any time of the day or night' - Matthew Hayden eager to help Australia solve batting woes against India

Following Australia's disastrous result in the second Test against India in Delhi, former opener Matthew Hayden has made himself available for the Australian team. The iconic batter is ready to impart his knowledge of the Indian conditions to the current crop of players in order to help them tackle the Indian spinners.

Matthew Hayden, currently part of the broadcasting team as a commentator, is more than eager to help the Aussie batters in alien subcontinent conditions. The former Aussie cricketer was part of the touring side that won the Test series in 2004, their last triumph on Indian soil. He said he would love to lend a helping hand to his compatriots without charging a single penny. 

“One hundred per cent, at any time of the day or night, it is a given that myself - and I’m sure I speak for anyone else that I represent that would have that kind of influence - would 100 per cent be in. Any time I have been asked to do anything I’ve always said yes at any time of day,”  Hayden told The Age when asked about helping the Aussie players.

The former champion batter cited the examples of Shreyas Iyer's close relationship with Ricky Ponting and Matthew Mott’s role in England’s T20 World Cup triumph as teams are utilising the expertise of former Australian cricketers all around the globe.

"You can’t alienate them. If you want the creme de la creme, the very least you can do is respect them. There should be a system if you’re in the CA role, how do we get the intellectual property in our players? That’s the key. You can ask, it’s the same principle. Ask, and we did. Even though that didn’t happen it doesn’t take much to develop relationships,” the former opener added.

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