Top 5 run scorers in Tests between 2000-2005

1 Matthew Hayden

Matthew Hayden

The man who made a return to the Australian Test side after a hiatus of around 6 years and then went on to become one of the game's great opening batsmen was the most prolific batsman of the first half a decade of the new millennium.

Matthew Hayden returned to the Test side in 2000 but it was the tour of India the following year that saw him turn into a world-class batsman.

Hayden's run-scoring exploits in those five years were quite extraordinary as he piled up 6633 runs at an average of 57.67 and a strike rate of 61.73. He bullied the best bowlers in the world with his range of strokes and the ability to play long innings that were often decisive in turning Test matches in Australia's favour.

He scored 24 centuries and 23 half-centuries to become the highest scoring batsman in Test cricket during those years.