Hayden rejected Ponting’s farewell gift

Hobart: Right before Matthew Hayden decided to make it official about his retirement from international cricket, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting had made a secret offer to step down from the 2nd Twenty20 match at the Gabba against South Africa to allow Hayden a testimonial game to celebrate his retirement. According to a report in a daily The Herald Sun, Ponting and a former Test player conjured a plan to give the 37-year-old the ultimate send-off. The Australian captain phoned Hayden around 9 a.m., two hours before the press conference to announce he would retire from Australian cricket .