5 times Matthew Hayden made an improbable comeback

Rise as the top opening batsman after a forgettable England Tour

Matthew Hayden celebrates his first hundred in England, at the Oval in 2005.

After a dream run of three to four years, Hayden's position started being questioned during the VB Series in 2004-05. He was frequently replaced by other openers such as Michael Clarke and Simon Katich during the series but secured his place just in time by scoring a century on their ODI tour to New Zealand.

While Hayden was selected in all formats on their epic tour to England that summer, Hayden disappointed everyone including himself, scoring only one fifty - while chasing a low target against Bangladesh - in 18 international innings on that tour. As Australia suffered a rare low in that decade - not winning the Natwest tri-series and losing the Ashes urn - they decided to make major changes to their team.

Hayden only managed a laboured century on a good batting wicket in his 19th innings on that tour. While that knock could not help Australia retain the Ashes urn, it showed the selectors that he still had the game to continue at the highest level. He secured his place in the Test side, scoring hundreds in all of the next three Test matches for his country as well. His ODI career was thrown into the oblivion though.