Hayden was better than Cook. Cook averages 35 against saffers and 40 against Aust (take the 2 doubles out on flat tracks and it drops under 35 even under 30 when playing Aus in England) Only averages 33 in NZ.... http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/11728.html?class=1;template=results;type=batting Meh easily the worst player to get more than 7000 runs. Athers was better than him considering who he played against.
Cook averages 50 in Australia, a place where many English bats struggle. He averages 51 in India. He's one of the best openers of my lifetime and any talk of him being a flat track bully is unbelievably laughable. Hayden isn't even in the same solar system.
Saffa Pieterson aside, Cook is the best batsman England has produced since Gooch and is probably just about past him too.
Hayden never had to play against Australia and he couldn’t hit a ball off the square till most of the good bowlers retired.
Averaged 26 before 2001. Ambrose, Walsh both got him 3 times in those years. Alan Donald got him meekly in South Africa and he was Pollocks bunny in a series here. Walsh retired in 2001. Ambrose in 2000, Donald in 02. Completely coincidentally Hayden started averaging over 50 after that...
Hayden was great in India and on home decks He also had a brilliant purple patch in the ODIs for a while, really dominated You can make pros and cons statistics against guys like Cook, Graeme Smith and Sehwag. all were fine well above average openers imo, the hardest position to bat in the order
Batting like a snail at the oval in 05 playing for himself instead of the side. Never liked the merkin since. Loved the drop in roads of the MCG as much as anyone.
Lol take out two doubles on roads and he's worse than Atherton. Useless against decent pace as found out by Saffers, Australia and in NZ. Loves the medium pace of the sub continent teams though.
FFS Cook would shit himself if he had to face that WI attack. He's been found out by the pace of Aust, SA and the mighty NZ. It's a travesty if Cook overtakes any of the 10 000+ club. The ultimate flat track bully and humiliator of medium pace attacks on roads.
If we're taking out doubles on roads then let's start with Hayden's 380 against Zimbabwe in Perth. His other double against India gets a pass mark. And then we'll take out Atherton's doubles....hang on, the merkin never scored one on his way to averaging 37.
While we're at it let's take out all Hayden's hundreds on roads. Probably leaves him with about four....
Also take out Hayden's hundreds in second innings when Australia were ahead by about 500 and he'd be down to about two
Good fred this one imo. Seems to haved segued from Cook >> Tendulkar to Cook >> Haydos. If I had to pick an Aussie opener to bat for my life i'd take the brown nose gnome. Thought Gavaskar was a merkin but he was good back when India were still minnows. The way I see it is i'd have Cook if my life was on the line, but Haydos if we were chasing. Both have ( had ) holes in their games.