Hayden proud Aussies 'stick together'

Matthew Hayden is proud of the way his team sticks together after Lou Vincent's claims that Australian players are arrogant sledgers who "hunt like a pack of dogs". "If he considers that to be the case, I'm not unhappy about it, to be honest," Hayden said in Brisbane.

"Regardless of what Lou says, it's water off a duck's back as far as Australia is concerned." Hayden, who scored 117 against New Zealand on Sunday, said the comments 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."

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 it's 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."