Matthew Hayden is again constructing another supreme innings. I’m finding that he is pretty much, since the departure of Marto, my favourite batsman to watch these days. Hayden’s batting is unique in that he really does only have one shot. In park cricket there are lots of batsmen that will have this specification attributed to them by the team on the other end of their quickfire 50 built from hoiks to the leg. But Hayden’s one shot is an all encompassing one shot – it is a single shot with which through subtle late variations can send the ball to any area of the ground. Whereas your run of the mill superstar batsman’s array of shots tend to be well demarcated – Ponting’s on drive, his off drive, his pull and cut; Langer’s cover drive, square drive and pull shot – (all clearly different shots) Hayden’s array of ‘shots’ all issue from the same movement with only a carefully timed articulation of the wrists or arms or both to vary the angle of despatch of the ball. Rather than segregated distinct shots Hayden produces an inclusive movement that contains a continuum of forces and angles. His leave becomes a front foot defence becomes a drive (on or off, cover, square) becomes a cut or pull. When he is executing the single movement well he is the smoothest of cricketers. Watching this movement produces an hypnotic energy that stimulates a power that can perhaps be called love but is more important than that.