Matthew Hayden's world record Test score is a reward for hard work he has put in to improve his game, according to Australian selector David Boon. Hayden made 380 in the first Test against Zimbabwe in Perth.
"It's a magnificent effort - a fantastic innings - and all I can do is applaud him for his concentration levels over a long period of time.
"He fully deserves all the accolades he gets," said Boon, who was in the team when Hayden made his debut in 1994.
Hayden came of age as a Test player in India in 2001, when he scored 549 runs in a three-Test series.
"I believe he found the way that he should play [on that tour], he had confidence in his own game and he's played that way ever since," said Boon.
"I find it very difficult to compare players from different eras, but Matthew will continue to be one of the better players we've seen in the modern era."
 |  Matt's striking of the ball was the cleanest I have ever seen |
The previous highest score for Australia was 334 made by Don Bradman in 1930 and equalled by Mark Taylor in Pakistan in 1998.
"The innings was superb. I think Don, if he was here, would have appreciated the fact that records are made to be broken," said 91-year-old Bill Brown, Australia's oldest living Test cricketer.
Taylor declared against Pakistan rather than surpass Bradman's feat, but his successor as skipper, Steve Waugh, prolonged the innings to enable Hayden to do so.
"I really got nervous for him in the 290s," said Taylor.
"It gave me a little bit of reflection back about five years ago when I was lucky enough to get to that total. When I got to 300 it was all a blur."
He added: "You don't play for records. Matthew will feel the same way. If they come along, sure, it's part of the game."
MMIX
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