Matthew Hayden specializes in using choice epithets for some of the hapless bowlers that have the misfortune of bowling and he reserves the choicest ones for Indian bowlers: about a year ago Hayden’s comments about Harbhajan Singh were much in the cricket news, when India was touring Australia. Readers will recall it was a particularly acrimonious tour with allegations of racial slurs and counter allegations of name calling.
At that time, Hayden had very famously called Harbhajan an obnoxious little weed. “It’s been a bit of a long battle with Harbhajan, the first time I ever met him he was the same little obnoxious weed that he is now”, Hayden had said on Brisbane radio. Then there was also the allegation that he called Bhajji a ‘mad boy’ which he countered by saying that he said ‘bad’ not ‘mad’ which Bhajji should be “flattered” by since it was a clothing range.
Hayden had also famously referred to Ishant Sharma as a “stringbean paceman” and had expressed the desire to meet him in the boxing ring. “At the end of the day you are 19, why don’t you just worry about your bowling for a while,” Hayden was reported in the cricket news as having told Sharma.
This latest cricket controversy also is caused by the wonderful compliments that Hayden seems to reserve for Indian bowlers who seem to get under his hide with shocking regularity. So when Hayden was in full flow and was stopped in his tracks at 89 by Sreesanth, the bowler seemed rather overwhelmed and as he often does, he overreacted. He hurled some abuse or harsh words at Hayden, and Hayden then responded with his withering scorn, the contempt that he keeps especially for Indian bowlers.
"I think he is an overrated bowler and so I think he was a great target for us to go at. He always loses his cool under pressure and I think tonight was a good example of that," Hayden told reporters during the post match press conference.
As for Sreesanth, this is far from his first run in with cricket controversy. Readers will remember last year’s IPL which saw Sree in floods of tears because Harbhajan Singh allegedly slapped him. This is just the sort of thing that Indian players need to avoid, such a display of childish immaturity. When our chaps behave like this, can you really blame Hayden for taking pot shots at them!
