Matthew Hayden's long wait

Line and Length, the Times’ cricket blog, lists Matthew Hayden at No.41 in its weekly countdown of Ashes heroes. Hayden was a part of Australia’s touring party to England in 1993, but had to wait for eight years for his first Ashes Test. Patrick Kidd writes of Hayden’s struggles to cement his place in the Australian team and his relatively modest record in England.

In 1993, the 21-year-old Hayden was picked for Australia's tour party to England on the back of a couple of excellent Sheffield Shield seasons. He was travelling for the experience but on that tour he played 13 first-class county matches (ah, those were the days...), scored 1,150 runs at an average of 57.55 and yet DID NOT PLAY AN ASHES TEST FOR ANOTHER EIGHT YEARS