Joined
·
4,018 Posts
Matthew Hayden's race to be fit for the third Test against India looks set to go down to the wire with the powerful left-hander expected to be given a last-minute fitness test to assess his availability.
Hayden trained lightly on Monday, doing several stationary and slow-moving fielding drills, walking a few laps before finishing up with throw-downs in the nets.
Team-mate Adam Gilchrist rated Hayden better than a 50-50 chance to recover from the hamstring injury, which was aggravated in the Sydney Test.
"Matt just mentioned to me in passing on the training track that it's a really frustrating injury because there's so much he can do and knows he can do at 100 per cent but then there's just a couple of little things where he really feels it," Gilchrist said.
"There's just a fear that if you do have to do one or two of those things where it's impeding him, he's going to do it badly and let the team down. I daresay it will be a last minute fitness test to give him every chance."
"But he said it's definitely improved from yesterday, so that's a positive sign. I'd say he's more than 50-50 but I haven't spoken to the physio."
Should Hayden not recover in time, WA opener Chris Rogers is on stand-by to make his Test debut.
At the start of the summer, Rogers was entrenched in a two-way battle with Phil Jaques to replace the retired Justin Langer at the top of the order before a bout of appendicitis put Rogers' Test dream on hold.
"Chris Rogers is probably not the prettiest, most elegant batsman by the way of his shots and stance that you are going to come across but he's a very, very effective cricketer," Gilchrist said.
"He's a guy that's forged a great first-class career. He knows his game and learnt what his limitations and strengths are."
"He's deceptive. He'll look like a nicker and a nudger, a guy that just noodles it around, but he does have a lot more venom in that bat than what he looks like. He can score at a good clip. I haven't seen him miss out too many times."
Gilchrist also threw his support behind speedster Shaun Tait for a berth at the WACA Test.
"If he did play he'd be a really useful weapon. He feels comfortable bowling in these conditions ... he's really striving to make an impact at Test level," he said.
"The way Ricky uses him is important, too. The way Ricky injects him into the attack in one-day cricket would be a similar manner in Test cricket. So with that in mind I think he could play a big part."
Hayden trained lightly on Monday, doing several stationary and slow-moving fielding drills, walking a few laps before finishing up with throw-downs in the nets.
Team-mate Adam Gilchrist rated Hayden better than a 50-50 chance to recover from the hamstring injury, which was aggravated in the Sydney Test.
"Matt just mentioned to me in passing on the training track that it's a really frustrating injury because there's so much he can do and knows he can do at 100 per cent but then there's just a couple of little things where he really feels it," Gilchrist said.
"There's just a fear that if you do have to do one or two of those things where it's impeding him, he's going to do it badly and let the team down. I daresay it will be a last minute fitness test to give him every chance."
"But he said it's definitely improved from yesterday, so that's a positive sign. I'd say he's more than 50-50 but I haven't spoken to the physio."
Should Hayden not recover in time, WA opener Chris Rogers is on stand-by to make his Test debut.
At the start of the summer, Rogers was entrenched in a two-way battle with Phil Jaques to replace the retired Justin Langer at the top of the order before a bout of appendicitis put Rogers' Test dream on hold.
"Chris Rogers is probably not the prettiest, most elegant batsman by the way of his shots and stance that you are going to come across but he's a very, very effective cricketer," Gilchrist said.
"He's a guy that's forged a great first-class career. He knows his game and learnt what his limitations and strengths are."
"He's deceptive. He'll look like a nicker and a nudger, a guy that just noodles it around, but he does have a lot more venom in that bat than what he looks like. He can score at a good clip. I haven't seen him miss out too many times."
Gilchrist also threw his support behind speedster Shaun Tait for a berth at the WACA Test.
"If he did play he'd be a really useful weapon. He feels comfortable bowling in these conditions ... he's really striving to make an impact at Test level," he said.
"The way Ricky uses him is important, too. The way Ricky injects him into the attack in one-day cricket would be a similar manner in Test cricket. So with that in mind I think he could play a big part."
