Aussie cricket legend Matthew Hayden’s inspirational dressing room speech after Pakistan made the T20 World Cup semi-finals has gone viral.
The former Aussie opener was the batting coach for Pakistan at the last World Cup and was reappointed a mentor for the 2022 edition in Australia.
A first up loss to India in one of the all-time classic T20 Internationals followed by a shock one-run upset to Zimbabwe meant the nation’s fate was out of its hands.
But the cricket gods smiled on the Pakistan when the Netherlands pulled off one of the greatest upsets seen in cricket history to defeat South Africa by 13 runs.
It set up what was effectively a quarterfinal against Bangladesh and the side made no mistake, booking a semi-final clash against New Zealand on Wednesday night at the SCG.
While the cricket world was speechless about what had unfolded over the day, the 51-year-old Queenslander commanded the room, delivering a few home truths to his charges.
“We had a pretty good day,” Hayden said with a laugh.
“It’s just a miracle that we are seeing unfold here but even before we got to this day, I sensed that we have this trust in the process, we weren’t overcomitting to our the training. We had a day off and we celebrated that day off.
“I think in T20 cricket, it’s one of those games that you can overplay, overtrain for and overthink. And when I look at this side and I have seen this for a while now, I think we are such a good reactive team.
“We have got the energy there, we’ve got the commitment and belief to each other, then the magic just unfolds. And today was a magic day.
“Having said that, we win and we lose together. Today is a winning day and on any given day, there are always going to be people who will lose in a winning day but that’s for conversations months from now, who cares.”
Hayden then singled out players for special mentions to celebrate the win.
Although he criticised a slow approach to the batting innings from the openers, he said: “We are 100 per cent behind you guys”, after Mohammad Rizwan’s run a ball 32 and captain Babar Azam’s 25 off 33 saw Pakistan behind a run a ball after 10 overs.
But Mohammad Haris’ 31 off 18 and Shan Masood’s 24 off 14 took the team over the line with 11 balls remaining.
“Boys, we are dangerous, just understand and appreciate that,,” Hayden continued.
“The moment Pakistan cricket fires off with intent and starts to reveal its teeth, we become a real threat.
“There will be no one in this world and this competition that would want to face us right now. not one.
“They thought they got rid of us, but now they are not going to get rid of us. We are here, dug in and I actually love how we have gone about this compared to the last World Cup because the expectations were enormous in the last World Cup. We blew everyone off the face of the planet.
“It hasn’t been smooth sailing. If it wasn’t for the Dutch, we are not here. But we are here and it is powerful because no one wants to see us and that’s the element of surprise we have got the advantage.
“Boys moving into the next couple of days, clear your minds. Be free and be fresh for whichever game we play and just unleash again with just good, positive intent.
“Fearless cricket, almost forgetful cricket.
“Who cares what has happened over the last three weeks, we are here. So, well done. Just a magic day and you’re going to have to punch the smile off of my face.”
It’s an inspirational message for a team that was always behind the eight-ball this World Cup and had nothing given to them after a brutal start to the tournament.
The speech has struck a nerve as well as the ICC’s post on social media has attracted 700,000 views at time of writing.
Ahead of the knockout semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday, Hayden could prove to the side’s secret weapon and will no doubt have his charges ready to run through a brick wall for him.
