Cricket: Hayden returns to place of rebirth

MATTHEW HAYDEN says the Indians know more about him than he knows about himself.

The same might be true for all the Australian players in this cricket-and statistic-obsessed country, but in this particular case, it is not so surprising.

India, after all, was where this brutal, broad-shouldered Queensland batsman's international career was re-born three-and-a-half years ago and the locals have every right to feel a little maternal.

Hayden himself says it has become a home away from home, at least in a cricketing sense.