WACA: A stadium filled with memories

#2 Matthew Hayden’s gargantuan innings against Zimbabwe

Matthew Hayden of Australia leaves the field after scoring a world record 380 runs in Perth.

In the early 2000s, the Australian team was at the peak of their prowess. Led by an astute captain Steve Waugh, they had continuously triumphed against all the teams. Their supreme dominance had created a lot of ripples in the minds of the opposition.

It was at that point, Zimbabwe went to tour Australia. Zimbabwe won the toss and put Australia into bat in the first Test. What followed later was truly a marauding assault from Matthew Hayden.

In a 622-minute vigil, he hammered the toothless Zimbabwe attack to all corners of the ground and scored an astounding 380 runs at a very impressive strike of 86.95. His innings was studded 38 fours and 11 maximums. Surpassing Brian Lara’s 375, this innings was the highest individual Test score at that point of time.

Personally, for Hayden, this knock ensured that he was at the peak of his career and helped the Australian team continue its dream run.