Melbourne: As the cricketing fraternity stood up to applause Matthew Hayden, who announced his retirement yesterday, former greats feel Australia could take years to recover from the blow.

Former skipper Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were unison in their concern for Australia cricket, which they feel would become more vulnerable with Hayden's departure.

"The aura the Australian team has, they have lost quite a bit more of it because Matty is not there any more," said former pacer Glenn McGrath.

"It's hard to replace him because guys like him, they are invaluable. You can't fill that experience for years," he said.

To Waugh, Hayden was not only a player who revolutionised the opener's role but also a "big brother" who would always watch your back.

"The great thing about Matthew Hayden was he redefined what an opening batsman was and he changed the face of Test match batting forever," Waugh said.

"He was like a big brother in the way he would look after you. It was like being in the school playground, if someone started picking on you he would always look after you. Just having him on your side gave you an extra sense of security," said the former Australia skipper.

Leg-spin legend Warne felt Hayden's intimidating style would be sorely missed.

"He had an aura about him when he went out to bat," Warne was quoted as saying in 'The Daily Telegraph'.

"The thing that will be missed is his aura around the side with the young players in there now. It's another player gone who will be very hard to replace."

Source : PTI