Hayden's 181*, how good was it really?

[Son Of Coco]

You can forget the 10 6s tbh. I can namre plenty of innings better, although it was a very good innings for sure. But he has so many things in his favour. You have the ridiculously short boundaries (I could have hit a slow, low full toss for 6 on that thing), basic roads to bat on, and that bat he uses is so damn powerful it's unfair.

Why was he the only one in the game to score 181 then? Oh, and the bat doesn't have a trigger...

 

[Natman20]

There were numerous comments about Hayden struggling before he actually managed to start hitting the ball over the boundary. It would have been better if he was comfortable the whole way through the innings.

 

[thierry henry]

yikes, Hayden hatred has reached new levels of absurdity.

It seems as though people have a multitude of reasons for not rating Hayden, none of which I can really comprehend.

I think it's about time that a few people just accepted the fact that Hayden is nearing the end of a distinguished, prolific career, and will go down in history as one of the players of his era. Furthermore, he's one of the best century makers ever, in terms of his centuries to tests ratio and ability to make really big scores.

 

[Prince EWS]

I quite dislike watching Hayden bat, particularly in ODIs, and I didn't really enjoy watching the innings at all.

But that doesn't mean it wasn't brilliant, which it clearly was. He scored an unbeaten 181 without giving a chance and did most of it with a broken toe and a runner. Much has been made of the quality of the opposition, but I seriously don't think Tuffey, Franklin, Gillespie and Patel is really that bad an attack in ODIs, especially given the fact that Franklin - one you could expect to go the distance out of that attack - bowled quite well.

The pitch may have been flat, but 181* is 181*. Tremendous innings.

 

[straightbat]

any odi team in the world wants one of their openers to bat through the 50 overs and score 181no does matter how they score the runs i would take 180 every time over 30-40

 

[biased indian]

181 has to be good in any way....

but like his 380 it was aganist a second string attack ........

 

[Jono]

His knock was immense, there have been many better, but that doesn't mean his wasn't great.

He honestly did look like he was playing golf though when hitting those sixes late in the innings. Massive driving on the fairway.

 

[thierry henry]

I quite dislike watching Hayden bat, particularly in ODIs, and I didn't really enjoy watching the innings at all.

But that doesn't mean it wasn't brilliant, which it clearly was. He scored an unbeaten 181 without giving a chance and did most of it with a broken toe and a runner. Much has been made of the quality of the opposition, but I seriously don't think Tuffey, Franklin, Gillespie and Patel is really that bad an attack in ODIs, especially given the fact that Franklin - one you could expect to go the distance out of that attack - bowled quite well.

The pitch may have been flat, but 181* is 181*. Tremendous innings.

I think at times Hayden can look scratchy, while at other times (like about the whole of 2001-2003) he can look utterly dominant, but in a sort of robotic and predictable way. It was a bit like that yesterday, but you really just have to admire it. Towards the end of the innings he was hitting pretty much everything that landed clean out of the middle of the bat for six. For out and out hitting through the line and middling it, few are better. Once Hayden is set his eye is second to none and he simply never looks like missing or mi****ting a ball. Regardless of the pitch or the opposition that sort of talent is very rare.

 

[Perm]

Great knock, not the greatest ever but certainly Hayden's best.

 

[Prince EWS]

I think at times Hayden can look scratchy, while at other times (like about the whole of 2001-2003) he can look utterly dominant, but in a sort of robotic and predictable way. It was a bit like that yesterday, but you really just have to admire it. Towards the end of the innings he was hitting pretty much everything that landed clean out of the middle of the bat for six. For out and out hitting through the line and middling it, few are better. Once Hayden is set his eye is second to none and he simply never looks like missing or mi****ting a ball. Regardless of the pitch or the opposition that sort of talent is very rare.

I might just be a bit strange, but that sort of power six-hitting doesn't really interest me much. Sure, it's effective and he played a brilliant innings, but it's not the sort of batting I like to see so I struggle to really "admire" it.

As I said, brilliant innings and I'm not taking anything away from it, but I didn't really enjoy it much.. just a personal taste in what sort of cricket I like to see really.

 

[burr]

When I was listening to it on the radio, I was surprised, after hearing commentary of him belting the ball around the park, that (at the stage) he was still not at a run a ball. The first part of his innings must have been slow. But 10 sixes; pretty impressive. I have to say though, Hayden innings hold no interest for me. He's such a one-dimensional batsman, no creative flair. Just get on the front foot and whack it.

 

[thierry henry]

I might just be a bit strange, but that sort of power six-hitting doesn't really interest me much. Sure, it's effective and he played a brilliant innings, but it's not the sort of batting I like to see so I struggle to really "admire" it.

As I said, brilliant innings and I'm not taking anything away from it, but I didn't really enjoy it much.. just a personal taste in what sort of cricket I like to see really.

That's what I mean. Cricket is about scoring runs and 6 is the most you can get with one shot. Therefore, the most effective skill a batsman can have is to be able to hit 6s at will- and if batsmen could do it, they would. Sometimes Hayden looks like he can. That's supreme talent. I don't particularly enjoy watching it either, but I'm saying you have to admire the talent that enables him to succeed in that way, if not enjoy it.

 

[Sanz]

Actually, now you come to mention it, check here.

Dispute conclusively proved in favour of PhoenixFire. May as well go close the thread...

That's right !! Harmison's ZERO in 1 ball was a great knock, it helped England save the Follow On and eventually win the Test match.

Very Conclusive Indeed. Let me know if you needed more straws to clutch at.

 

[Isolator]

That's what I mean. Cricket is about scoring runs and 6 is the most you can get with one shot. Therefore, the most effective skill a batsman can have is to be able to hit 6s at will- and if batsmen could do it, they would.

Pretty soon Mark Gillespie will be inside edging balls through the keeper, off the helmet on the ground, and on to the boundary - at will. That's 9 runs at least.

 

[Macka]

He scored 181*. I would be hard pressed to put any innings of 40 or 50 ahead of it, unless they scored 40 or 50 out of 65 or 70 total.

I'd rate a match-winning 40 or 50 better than Hayden's 181, simply because it's winning that counts. It's all about the context of the match, and in last night's context, Hayden's wasn't the best innings played.

 

[Prince EWS]

That's what I mean. Cricket is about scoring runs and 6 is the most you can get with one shot. Therefore, the most effective skill a batsman can have is to be able to hit 6s at will- and if batsmen could do it, they would. Sometimes Hayden looks like he can. That's supreme talent. I don't particularly enjoy watching it either, but I'm saying you have to admire the talent that enables him to succeed in that way, if not enjoy it.

Yeah, that's a good point. I can relate to that.

I never said Hayden's innings wasn't a brilliant one - simply that I didn't really enjoy it.

 

[Fiery]

Hayden is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't score runs according to a lot of people here

 

[andyc]

Honestly it's ropable.

That doesn't make sense.

 

[pasag]

I was watching highlights of his innings, and decided that I have seen many a better innings by people who got 40/50 odd. Where would you rate it as such?

Dumbest post. If it was Pietersen who made it, you'd no doubt be going about how good it was for the next six years. Seems like Hayden will never ever get any recognition for anything he does, especially from some members of this forum.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Dumbest post.

Haha, make up your mind will ya.