Standing my Ground by Matthew Hayden

"Standing my Ground" is an autobiography written by Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden. Unlike the norm Hayden starts his autobiography by giving a summary of the sledges he dished out when fielding for Australia. In the first chapter of the book the reader learns that Hayden is not the intimidating character that he is made out to be, the reader learns that Hayden is a tough competitor with a never say die attitude. Hayden devotes his autobiography to, his childhood and family, his Religious beliefs and of course his cricket. Hayden talks about living on a farm throughout his childhood and the joy that he experienced living in the countryside away from reality. This leads into Hayden talking about the constant struggle he faced when he was forced to live in big cities. Hayden produces another topic that is not usually written about in a cricketer's autobiography, Religion. We discover that Hayden is a devote Catholic who is a regular at church every Sunday. He shares with us that he 'crossed' the crease every time he went out to bat which shows the effect that Christianity had on his sporting success. When talking about cricket and his love of sport Hayden takes the reader through a behind the scenes tour. Hayden shares the interesting and unique experiences he has had with teammates and also umpires through his cricketing career. Matthew Hayden's autobiography is a must-read for a person of any age. Hayden discusses many other aspects of his life other then cricket so a reader that has never played or watched cricket will still thoroughly enjoy the book. A sporty reader will fall in love with "Standing my Ground" as Hayden takes the reader on a journey through the life of an Australian cricketer. Hayden tells the story of his life in an honest and interesting way but Hayden also mangages to get the message to the reader that he is just a normal Aussie bloke.