Hayden a truly great Queenslander

Matt Hayden is a truly great Queenslander and will long be remembered as a giant of world cricket, Acting Premier Paul Lucas said today.

“Matthew Hayden has earned a lasting place in world, Australian and Queensland cricketing history,” Mr Lucas said.

“Matt is a great bloke, a great cricketer, and a great Queenslander.

“He is a Queensland sporting great – up there with the likes of Wally Lewis, Pat Rafter and Kieren Perkins.

“Lets not forget Matt – the humble lad from Kingaroy - was a member of the first Bulls team to win us the Sheffield Shield in 1995 and he was the world record holder for the highest test innings (Oct 2003).

“Today’s and future Queenslanders will claim Hayden in the same way we view the late great Bill Brown - a great cricketer and a good solid citizen.”

“Matt Hayden is more than a champion cricketer. He's a great family man and a proud Queenslander who has been a fine ambassador for our state and the Australian game of cricket for more than15 years.

“From the backyard nets at Kingaroy to being the Aussie batsman with the highest individual Test score, Matt has been a fantastic role model.

“His hard work and relentless application had overcome setbacks to get him to the very top.”

Sport Minister Judy Spence said Hayden epitomized the Queensland fighting spirit and was a role model for all young Australians.

“His love of family, mateship and the Queensland way of life have become the stuff of sporting legend,” Ms Spence said.

“He is a great role model for all young athletes.

“After being dropped from the Australian side early in his career, he worked hard and fought his way back onto the international arena and into the cricket record books without making the slightest of fuss."

Ms Spence said Hayden regularly found time outside cricket and his love of fishing to help with social work and support young children in hospital.

“He was one of the first together with pat Rafter, to put up his hand for the Queensland Government’s “Find Your 30” campaign, to encourage all Queenslanders to find 30 minutes of activity a day,” Ms Spence said.

The Courier-Mail earlier this year highlighted that Hayden had an equal number of test innings with West Indian great Viv Richards, but that in that comparison Hayden had a slightly higher aggregate.

“Only 11 cricketers in history have scored more Test runs, only five have scored more Test centuries and India's Sunil Gavaskar and England's Graham Gooch are the only opening batsmen to have scored more Test runs,” Mr Lucas said.

“As well Matt’s prolific opening partnerships in Test Cricket with Justin Langer and One Day Internationals with Adam Gilchrist offered every Aussie fan great confidence.

“Matt - on behalf of all Queenslanders - thanks for the memories and all the best to you and Kellie in your retirement.

“And for all those people who like good food (especially his pies) check out Matt’s recipes,” he said.