Finished With One Year, World Hero The Next!

As it is fast approaching the coming Cricket season I think it time to talk Cricket again. About this time last Year, Australian Opening Batsman, (of both the Test and One-Day Teams,) Matthew Hayden was not getting enough runs in the one-day format and was in fact dropped from the future One-Day World Cup Team line-up, and replaced with a promising new up and coming “star”. At that stage Hayden was still playing in the then current local Tri-series Competition.

Unfortunately the “promising new up and coming “star” got himself injured shortly after, leaving that spot empty again. In the meantime “old Matty” had just kept on going and was starting to get runs again and so they gave him back his place in the World Cup Squad One-Day Team again, and as they say, “The rest is History”.

This week, “old and washed out” Matthew Hayden again stood on the podium and once more received an award. This particular award was for “One-Day Player of the Year”. Not just for Australia, but “One-Day Player Of the year” from all the Cricketing nations. Not bad for a washed-up has-been, hey?

Talking recently about his then replacement, Matthew said, “Shane’s time will come, and it’s just probably lucky that I was in that position at the time where I hadn’t given up.”

“I was trying to send as many messages as I could to all parties involved that Matthew Hayden wasn’t finished playing one–day cricket. I guess here tonight I stand with a great smile on my face for everyone really believing in that, and for just myself, being in a position to play one-day cricket again.”

I think we can all learn from Matty’s behavior. He could have chucked a "Hissy fit”, “spat the Dummy”, or in cricketing parlance, "picked up his bat and walked". But he didn’t do any of that. He believed in himself and just put his head down and quietly went about making the most of the remaining opportunities available to him, and importantly for him, “kept putting Run’s on the Board. The only thing in the long run that really counted!

And when the opportunity presented itself, he was ready, willing and able to take the spot back again and make it his again! Fame and past reputation was not enough, runs on the board were what counted and Matty went after them, all the time signally to all who would listen that he was not finished yet, no matter what others thought. Of course while it is important to believe in yourself and hang on in there, you also have to produce the score on the board. Matty did, but what about you?

Others may think that you are finished, but are you? If not, don’t whinge and whine about it, but put your head down and your tail up and produce the Goods. Put some runs on the scoreboard! Be in the market place with desirable goods and wait and watch for your next opportunity!!!!!!

Maybe you don’t think you are finished like everyone else thinks, but maybe you really are? What then? Well if that is the case, you will soon know if you have another shot at it but unlike Matty don’t produce the goods. When you have done all you can humanly speaking and not getting the results desired, then perhaps giving it away and putting that time and effort into something else is the right thing to do.

But if you truly believe in yourself like Matthew Hayden did, then by all means give it one more shot, but like Matty, put everything into it. Don’t do it half-heartedly or rest on past reputations. Make new ones. Who knows what awards and benefits people have missed out in the past because they either didn’t believe in themselves or give it their best shot, and make themselves available for any future opportunities? What about you? Do you believe in yourself even though you think you have been un-fairly shafted?

If so what are you going to do about it? Whinge and whine? Or put your head down and put all your energy into one more shot at it? The choice is yours! Sure! Not all will succeed or even have the success that Matty had, but if you truly believe and have a go and don’t die wondering. Walter