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Opener Matthew Hayden says he is proud of the way his team sticks together after New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent’s claims that Australian players are arrogant sledgers who “hunt like a pack of dogs.”

Buoyed by a drought-breaking century against the Black Caps on Sunday, Hayden did not shy away from the claims of the recalled Kiwi opener, which were made on New Zealand radio on Tuesday.

Long regarded as the most vocal of the Australian players in the field, the strongly religious Hayden said he was happy for Vincent to feel that way.

“If he considers that to be the case, I’m not unhappy about it to be honest,” said Hayden in Brisbane on Wednesday. “Regardless of what Lou says, it’s water off a duck’s back as far as Australia is concerned,” he added.

Hayden said it reflected the competitive nature of Australian athletes.

“It’s doesn’t matter what sport… we could be playing kick a cockroach from here to the wall and we’d want to be competitive,” he said. “In the heat of the battle New Zealand and Australia is one of the finest competitions you can play. They’re in our country and we’re very excited about the way we’re playing and we’re working exceptionally hard to what is ahead of us,” he added.

Hayden said one of the strengths of the Australian team was that they stuck together on the field.

“We’ve had that mentality for as long as I can ever remember and its served us well,” he said. “We’ve been motivated by the fact we were under pressure, motivated by the fact that we needed to perform… we’re very proud of the fact that we stick by each other,” he added. Neither did Hayden shy away from claims of arrogance, suggesting it was well-deserved.

Source:The News

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