Matthew Hayden is excited about Yashasvi Jaiswal, but warns, ‘he has to adjust’ | Cricket News

There is a gushing excitement about Yashasvi Jaiswal around the cricketing world. The 22-year-old’s entry into Test cricket has been so prolific—1028 runs at 68.53 in 16 innings, a hundred every fourth outing—that he has developed the outlines of an aura. But sterner tests await him, like the tour to Australia, where a well-worn, well-rounded attack would put both his technique and temperament to test on hard and bouncy tracks.
In that sense, the tour to Australia would be the real gauge of his talent, determine whether he is one for the long haul equipped to prosper in overseas conditions, or if he is a home-track bully. More so, as he had a meagre return of 50 runs in four innings in South Africa at the start of the year. Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden is an admirer of Jaiswal, but says he is keen to watch how he adjusts to the conditions Down Under. “I’m looking forward to seeing how he adjusts, you know, and bouncy tracks,” he said on the sidelines of CEAT Awards in Mumbai.
Jaiswal loves to play on the rise, ride the bounce and drive through the covers. It could be a productive stroke in Australia—both VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar were exceptional at that—but it could also undo him, Hayden warns. “His ability in particular to get on the up through the covers is phenomenal. That will also have its vulnerabilities.” he observed.
So is his pull shot, which he essays liberally, without even bothering to transfer his weight fully onto the back foot. “We did notice a few times in the IPL that he’s a very hard hitter of the ball, pull shots in particular. But that will be challenged three world-class speedsters, assuming they’re all fit. And on much bigger grounds as well,” he said.
If the shot lacks the impetus, it could end up in the fielder’s palms. “It has to almost be the perfect contact for that ball to sail over six. So you can get caught easily, three-quarters of the way in the fence. So they have little adjustments that world-class players like Jazzy (Jaiswal) will have to make,” Hayden explained.
Not just the seamers, Jaiswal would have to be wary of the masterful off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who has sought tips from England’s left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, whose duels with Jaiswal was a familiar theme of England’s tour of India. “I haven’t come across him [Jaiswal] yet, but that will be a massive challenge for all us bowlers,” Lyon was quoted as saying ESPNCricinfo.
“The way he (Jaiswal) played against England, I watched that quite closely and thought that was quite amazing. I had some really good chats with Tom Hartley about different ways he went about it to different guys which I found quite interesting,” Lyon would add. Hartley, though, was subject to severe bruising at Jaiswal’s hands (152 runs off 167 balls and once dismissed).
Smith quandary
Whereas India have a more or less settled pair of openers, Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, Australia have been struggling to fill the space after David Warne’s retirement at the stroke of the year. “He really took that legacy that I’d created through the 2000s to a new level, strike rates in excess of 80 and gave great momentum to the top order which otherwise is quite a conservative. So I think he’s an enormous loss in terms of how do you replace them,” he said.
Steve Smith volunteered to open, but has struggled. His eight innings have yielded only 171 runs. Only once has he posted a half-century too. And Hayden is not too keen in persing with him. “The role of an opening batsman compared to a middle order batsman is very different. You know, it didn’t take long to discover that. You know, when you get into challenging conditions like they faced in the first series outside of Australia, which was in New Zealand, that, you know, opening the batting is very difficult,” he pointed out.

“And I personally, as I said at the time, was on record saying that I didn’t like changing. I think it’s crazy to think that you have the world’s best-in-class batter in a certain position. And then you change to a completely different position,” he said.