New Zealand reporter's bizarre sledge at Aussie Test legend

·Sports Reporter

5 January 2021 at 9:19 pm·2-min read

Matthew Hayden (pictured right) jogging off with Ricky Ponting (pictured left). — A New Zealand journalist took a dig at Aussie cricket legend Matthew Hayden (pictured right) after Kane Williamson joined an elite group of players to score 7,000 Test runs in 144 innings. (Getty Images)

Kane Williamson’s latest extraordinary feat for New Zealand landed him in an elite class, but one New Zealand journalist took the opportunity to sledge an Aussie legend in the process.

Williamson keeps plundering runs at an elite rate with his latest double century coming off a nine-hour innings and a 369-run fourth-wicket partnership with Henry Nicholls against Pakistan.

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He also became the 13th fastest player to score 7,000 runs.

He joined an elite class of batsmen to have scored the runs in 144 innings, but one New Zealand journalist took an opportunity to take a dig at the Aussie in this slice of history.

“Achieving it in his 144th innings means only 12 batsmen in the history of the game did it quicker, a who’s who of 11 of the greatest to have ever graced the crease, and Matthew Hayden,” New Zealand Herald journalist Dylan Cleaver wrote.

Whether it was just a cheeky dig at his Trans-Tasman counterpart or not, there is no doubt Hayden deserves his place amongst the elite.

New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson plays a shot on day three of the second cricket Test match between New Zealand and Pakistan at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on January 5, 2021. (Photo by MARTY MELVILLE/AFP via Getty Images)

Steve Smith, Wally Hammond, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Garry Sobers, Kumar Sangakkara, Virat Kohli, Mohammad Yousuf, Sunil Gavaskar, Viv Richards and Rahul Dravid rounded off the list of players to have scored the runs quicker.

Hayden joins Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag as the openers to have plundered the runs quicker.

The Aussie also can lay claim to the second best average, scoring 8,625 runs at 50.74, for any opener to have played more than 100 innings other than Len Hutton.

Williamson creates history

Either way, Williamson keeps making history for his nation.

Unflappable, he was 199 when the second and shorter rain break of the day occurred Tuesday and returned to post his double-century from 327 balls.

In doing so he became only the second New Zealand after Brendon McCullum, his predecessor as captain, to post four double-centuries in tests.

And at 123 he surpassed 7,000 runs in Tests, following his current teammate Ross Taylor and former captain Stephen Fleming as one only New Zealanders to achieve that mark.

with AAP

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