Matthew Hayden perfectly distinguishes between the modern day fab four

Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden recently expressed his views about the modern day greats of the cricket world. The current world of cricket is being dominated by four young batsmen. They have taken the game to a whole new level with their performances and consistency. They make up the fab four of the modern day cricket – Joe Root, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson.

Matthew Hayden feels each of them are on their way to greatness. He noted that they all have different batting styles and different approach to the game. However, they all succeed because they are unique in their own ways. While Williamson thrives on the backfoot, Kohli’s aggression on the front foot cover drives is worth watching.

He also had words of praises for Cheteshwar Pujara. Pujara has also been plundering runs at will in the recent times. He is the top ranked Indian batsman in the ICC Test rankings at the moment. Hayden compared Pujara to Rahul Dravid.

“Kohli, Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson are vastly different players and good thing about all these guys is that each one of them is stepping on greatness in their own unique ways along with Cheteshwar Pujara and his ‘Rahul Dravid like approach’ to Test cricket,” noted Matthew Hayden as per the quotes in NDTV.

“Williamson’s backfoot play and ability to play the ball late in all conditions is something we haven’t seen in modern players. Kohli’s cover drive and ability to attack bowlers with quality running between the wickets and the manner in which he plays spin is unique,” he added.

“Now come to Smith with his unorthodox back-and-across type of approach – with that technique you might say he should not have achieved anywhere near what he is. The reality is that High Performance coaches should understand that there is not one right technique, most of it is between your left and right ear. These guys are great players as in their heads, they have got it spot on,” he added further.

On an imaginary McGrath-Kohli battle

When asked about an imaginary battle between bowling legend Glenn McGrath and the Indian captain, Hayden reckoned that the latter would have fared well. Kohli has had his struggles with the line just outside the off stump. And McGrath was one such bowler who always bowled that tight line.

“He would have found a way I think like all great players do. You can cast shadow over technique and everyone has their own flaws but reality is that they overcome those deficiencies with application and commitment. So Kohli would have done fine against Glenn I think,” he conceded.

On Kohli’s struggle in England

Speaking about Kohli’s dismal run in England in 2014, Matthew Hayden pointed out that even his technique did not yield him good results in England. There needs to be a different mentality when players play in the English conditions. Not every ball is meant to be attacked. Hence, the players who leave the balls well often succeed in building innings in England.

“Having a moderate season in conditions like England (in 2014) might have been a good thing for Virat. He has learnt probably what he has to do next time round. I was in same boat as well as I was scoring 1000 runs in County cricket in England but during Test matches, I had a certain role to play,” mentioned Matthew Hayden.

“Well, it didn’t get me results in England, right through my career. It was one venue where I battled a bit because I too had an attacking strategy like Virat. He loves to hit the ball like all Indian players do. But in England, you have to leave the balls, build runs and hence wise the Pujaras or the Rahanes do well because, they leave a lot of deliveries. It’s a different mindset,” Hayden concluded.