Matthew Hayden revealed how he had rattled the 'Rawalpindi Express' in 2002. (Source: AP)

Matthew Hayden, the former Australian opener, is no stranger to the art of sledging and he recently shared an anecdote where he had used mind games to unnerve the former Pakistan pacer, Shoaib Akhtar.

The 48-year-old Queenslander revealed how he had sledged the “Rawalpindi Express” ‘out of the game’ during the 2002 Test in the United Arab Emirates.

“Someone like Akhtar for example, I’d call him ‘B-grade actor’ for a start, which used to get under his skin a bit,” Hayden said on The Grade Cricketer podcast.

“We were playing in Sharjah and it was 58 degrees out in the middle and Akhtar, when we walked out, said, ‘I’m going to kill you today’ in a whole lot more colourful language. And I said, ‘Mate, that’s terrific, you know I’m looking forward to that challenge’ in a lot more colourful language.

“So I said, ‘But here’s the thing, Dumbo. You’ve got 18 balls to do it. You’ve got three overs because you’re going to turn into a marshmallow that’s been left on the plane too long and is going to be dripping down and I’m going to be the one at the other end of those 18 balls that’s going to be mopping it up’.”

Umpiring in that match was Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, and Hayden revealed that he even used him to get under Akhtar’s skin.

“I go right, how can I get Shoaib looking like an absolute goose and how can I tell Venkat about this? Now India and Pakistan, there’s no love lost there, so I though that’s my point (of leverage),” Hayden said.

“So as Shoaib’s running in to bowl and he’s cursing every profanity under the sun at me, I get to his bowling mark as I’m counting down his balls from one to 18. He gets to his delivery stride and I pull out. He runs at me going, ‘What’s the problem?’

“I said, ‘I’ve got a problem’. I storm up to Venkat and say, ‘I give everything on the game, I deserve everything I get, but within the protocols and etiquette of the game, surely you can’t be running in and abusing someone’.”

Shoaib Akhtar was famous for his blistering pace and aggression on the pitch. (Source: File)

According to Hayden, umpire Venkat had given Akhtar a stern talking to after the batsman’s complaint.

“I think the only way that Shoaib is going to get me out here, is bowled — because Venkat’s definitely not going to give me LBW and I’m not going to get caught behind because this thing (the pitch) was an absolute Bunsen burner. It wasn’t bouncing more than a centimetre,” Hayden said.

“So all I had to do was stand my ground and that was it. He (Akhtar) got through his 18 balls and he collapsed at the end of it. And of course I take the opportunity to get my (fresh pair of) gloves I didn’t need and just go up to Shoaib and said, ‘You want to go off, don’t you?’

“And he says no. And I say, ‘Mate, come on. There’s no heroes in Test cricket. David Boon once said that to me. It’s hot and I know you’re busted. Just go off, I promise I won’t think any worse of you’.

“Anyway, he called old mate on and he’s gone off and he didn’t participate in the rest of the Test match,” Hayden concluded.

Hayden played Pakistan twice in Sharjah during his Test career and Akhtar only played one of those matches, picking up 1/42. Australia won that Test by an innings and 198 runs where Hayden hit a 119-run knock.