Hayden doubtful for New Zealand one-dayers

Already struggling to overcome his poor form, Matthew Hayden's chances of getting back among the runs was dealt a blow when he was termed a doubtful starter for the one-day series in New Zealand. Hayden is suffering from a severe chest infection and might not fly with the team on Wednesday.

"He's got a viral chest infection and he wasn't well enough to play [for Queensland in the ING Cup match against Western Australia on Friday]," Trefor James, the Australian team doctor, told The Sun-Herald. "These things are not totally predictable. Our expectation is that he'll be fit to go, but sometimes these things can take more like a week to clear up, so that's where there's a bit of doubt. It's really how he is by Tuesday that will determine whether he goes or not, but we are 90% sure that he'll still go."

Earlier, Dean Jones, who has been working with Hayden on his batting, painted a more grim picture of Hayden's health, telling Radio 3AW that Hayden had "full-blown pneumonia", and was "as crook as a dog at the moment". James, however, stated that Jones's assessment was "a bit of an exaggeration", but agreed that Hayden wasn't a 100% certainty for the ODIs.

Hayden has had a wretched run in both Tests and one-day internationals over the last season, averaging just 33.67 in his last nine Tests, and 18.70 in his last ten ODIs. He was recently dropped from the one-day team during the VB Series, when Michael Clarke took over as Adam Gilchrist's opening partner. Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, indicated that Hayden would get another chance to regain his slot during the one-dayers in New Zealand, but his illness means Clarke could continue with the opener's job in the series.