No. 1: Matthew Hayden

"He was such an imposing presence and he made his presence felt. With his big, wide shoulders and barrelled chest, opposition bowlers knew he was out there to put them under pressure straightaway"

Stats

OVERALL: Matches 103 Innings 184 Runs 8625 Average 50.73 100s/50s 30/29
ASHES: Matches 20 Innings 35 Runs 1461 Average 45.65 100s/50s 5/2

Best performance

197 and 103 in Brisbane, 2002
The early 2000s were the best years of Matthew Hayden's Test career, and he started the 2002-03 Ashes with hundreds in both innings in the first Test in Brisbane. He dominated the English bowling from day one, remaining unbeaten on 186 as Australia cantered to 364 for 2. Hayden fell three shy of a double hundred, but he was not done yet. As Australia pushed to further their 167-run first-innings lead, Hayden once again led the charge, scoring 103. He hit 38 fours and three sixes in the Test, which Australia won by 384 runs.

Trivia

Only four Australians have scored a century in both innings in an Ashes Test: Warren Bardsley, Arthur Morris, Steve Waugh and Matthew Hayden.