Hayden fighting against all odds to save career

Who would've thought just some 12 months ago after scoring his 103 at the Adelaide Oval; his 3rd century in a row, that Matthew Hayden would be fighting for his career in the final test against South Africa at the SCG. If you had told someone that Hayden would be doing exactly that, most would have laughed at you.

But after a deplorable summer against New Zealand and South Africa in which he has ended up with a meager 128 runs in 9 innings at an average of just 16 with a highest score of 31, Hayden's career has turned upside down with media, opposition and even his own fans turning on him.

Hayden has been fighting hard all summer, but some good planning, unlucky decisions and some run outs have brought him down. He struggled in New Zealand, 8 and a golden duck at the Gabba, and 24 at the Adelaide oval. That 24 was in his 100th test and it was the best he looked all summer. He played his shots and was all set for a century before a major mix up resulted in his run out.

Against the South Africans, it looked like Matthew Hayden was going to smash himself back into form, but in Perth and yet again in Melbourne, he tried to attack one ball too many and got himself out. All summer, Hayden has gotten over-confident and has ended up going for too many big shots instead of playing sensible and playing each ball on its merits.

Back in 2005, Hayden had a dismal winter in England, but ended up grinding and scrapping his way to a career saving century. In the first innings of the final test up at Sydney, Hayden went for the same method, scrapping together his highest score of the summer, 31. But he couldn't hide the attacking nature in which he has played for the majority of his career, and went out.

The media have been on his back all summer, but he has denied that he will retire and many of his teammates and family have had to come out and defend him. There have even been calls from fans to drop him so that they can blood young players like Phil Hughes or Michael Klinger.

This evening Hayden walked out for what could possible be the last time, with a big reception from his crowd and a very noticeably nervous wife. He played his shots and it seemed that the gods were with him after he survived a very close LBW shout that many thought would have hit between middle and leg stump. Not many will forget when Dan Vettori dropped Hayden early on in a one dayer in the CB series 2 years ago. He ended up going on to make a century and saving his one day career.

Tomorrow he will be looking for a big knock, just like that in 2005. But with a pitch that is crumbling with cracks everywhere, it will be very tough. You cannot put down Hayden though, he has shown many times during his career that he can produce knocks right when they are needed, and we all hope he can do that tomorrow. Even if he doesn't and it ends up his last test innings, he will still be remembered as one of the greats.