5 times Matthew Hayden made an improbable comeback

Breaking through a tough Australian opening slot in 2000-01

Hayden made the opening slot his own, smashing 852 runs in 8 internationals in the 2000-2001 tour of India

If he'd been a bit luckier, Hayden might not have missed the World Cups of 1992, 1996 and 1999. Months before the 1992 World Cup, Hayden smashed 149 on his first-class debut. Although he did not have a serious chance of making it to the World Cup squad, he did indeed manage an ODI debut in England in May 1993.

Although he managed only two fifties in the eleven-month stretch while he was a regular in the one-day side, he was more regular in the Tests in his initial years. However, he was out of either team for three straight years. By 2000, when he made his comeback, Mark Waugh-Adam Gilchrist were settled as Australia's ODI opening pair; and Justin Langer-Michael Slater were doing enough to justify their presence at the top of their Test order.

The 2000-01 tour to India changed things around. Hayden scored a mammoth 549 runs in the three-match Border-Gavaskar Test series, at an average of 109.8, comprising two centuries - including his maiden double hundred. While Australia narrowly lost the Test series, they turned the tables around by winning an ODI series after a long time in India. Hayden was the leading run-scorer in the ODI series too, with 303 runs at 75.75 - including his maiden ODI hundred.

From there on, Hayden established legendary partnerships in Tests and ODI's with Langer and Gilchrist respectively. Both partnerships won more matches than most other pairs in either format. Hayden went on to represent Australia finally in the 2003 World Cup, and ensured his team won it, thanks to a thunderous 100-run opening stand in the final with Adam Gilchrist.