And Hayden at last announced his retirement. The ace Australia batsman announced decision to bid farewell from international cricket on Tuesday. The 37 year old drew stumps on a dazzling career as one of the greatest opening batsmen of all time.

Hayden said that he was prepared to quit after the Ashes tour of England but told at the Brisbane news conference that he knew his time to quit had come.

Hayden said that the decision has not taken lightly and had after much thought, consideration and discussion with the family and close friends.

Hayden is a powerfully built left-hander and prolific run-scorer who has played 103 tests for Australia between 1994 and 2009. He has scored 8,625 runs at an average of 50.73.

The Queenslander hit 30 tons including the dazzling 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003, which was the world record for the highest test score for a brief time.

Hayden scored 6,131 runs from 161 ODIs and has featured in the Australian teams that won the 2003 and 2007 World Cups.

Hayden was a key part of the Australian squad that reined the world cricket for the past decade. He was involved in the devastating opening partnership with fellow lefthander Justin Langer, taking high scores many times.

Hayden is remembered for his stubborn fight against adversity as the number and manner of runs he scored. He was dropped after the first test in 1994 and made only six appearances before till 2000. But then suddenly he enjoyed a golden run in the next years scoring belligerently. Hayden said that he after playing for long 17 years realize that he has played for the country for a long time and time has come for him to quit. The stunning career of Hayden is lauded by many cricket big wigs of Aussies team including Mark Waugh, Glenn Mc Grath, and David Boon.

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Tags : Cricket, World Cup, Australia, century, Ashes, David Boon, Mathew Hayden, Justin Langer, Zimbabwe, Mark Waugh

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