It’s a story about a world-class cricketer choosing a new life — the country life. Passionate about his family, food and the outdoor life, this series is Matthew Hayden’s journey back to his home turf.
Watch Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden in a new avatar, that of a passionate farmer in TLC’s new series, Mathew Hayden’s Home Ground.
Q Most cricketers find it strange to settle in one place with no travelling to do after they retire. How did you adjust to the quiet country life after such a fast-paced one?
Whatever God decides to give me I look forward to it. It’s been a fantastic journey as a sportsman. It’s been a fantastic journey as a husband who now has three beautiful little children. I’m opening the doors to new business opportunities through my passions, which are recreation, leisure and lifestyle. I’m going on this interesting and different journey.
I’ve met people from all over the world and I’ve fallen in love with their ways and learned to culturally accept them as well. It’s added great value to my life because of my exposure to different cultures and people.
Q How come you are such a good cook?
I think the progression was really natural as I grew up on a farm. We had red soil, really deep, rich, basalt soil. So, pretty much the moment you added water to it, it grew anything. I used to manage the plot. I used to study the seasons,when things grew well, when they didn’t; heritage seeding as well, collecting seeds of tomatoes and things like that and learning how to store them and then learning how to plant them. So it was really natural.
Also back in India, I used to go down to the kitchen and enjoy hanging out with the staff and the chefs. I used to talk to the staff and before you knew it, we were cooking together and I was learning all these great things. To me that was a wonderful way to relax and take a break from cricket.
Q How does it feel to be home?
I’ve had a life where I’ve been on the road for 11 months of the year for 20 years. I guess I’m privileged in a way that I’ve got a choice now to do what I connect to, whether that is playing for Brisbane Heat, starting my own company, or reaching out to India where I’ve got a huge fan base, or in fact have a garden in which I actually supply fresh fruit and veggies to my family and teach my kids that food actually comes from a certain plant or a certain animal or a certain tree. It’s the simple things in life that I really admire and enjoy, and these are all the things that I explore in my show.
Q Who are your famous friends who will be visiting you in the country?
I was talking to Suresh Raina and I know that he’s very keen to come over with MS Dhoni. I’ll cook them both up a beautiful Indian meal straight from my back garden. I mean I can make a really great curry and I don’t have to go anywhere. I’ve also had Parthiv Patel over.
Q Describe your outdoor life?
My company is called “The Hayden Way”. It’s an innovative leisure and lifestyle recreational company. It runs a number of lifestyle brands,including my own and a fishing brand called 2DANS, a travel brand called The TravelBug, and it’s also an owner in the newly established Big Bash League here in the Brisbane Heat where I’m part owner and a director within that space as well. It celebrates sports and a healthy and active life.
Q Do you play cricket for fun now?
Later this year, I’m going to be playing in the Big Bash League, which is the domestic Australian T20 league. And so, for me this is also a little bit like the IPL. This is an opportunity for cricketthrough promotion of franchises to create a truly premier competition here domestically.
Q How you bond with your kids? Do they cook with you?
I have three kids. Grace is nine, Joshua is six and Thomas is four. The four-year-old is the one who is really getting the value out of Home Ground. I mean he has his own veggie plot now. At the moment, we’re growing fresh peas and he’s just sitting down there chewing down the peas. He’s grown beetroot, tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower.
Q How does it feel to let the cameras into your home?
I really loved it. I enjoyed the whole experience. I love cooking. I love food. I love being able to bring value to my family and also like to reveal to people that it hasn’t been only about cricket for the last 20 years.
Q Any fond memories while you were in India?
Meeting the Dalai Lama was a remarkable experience. I had followed his teachings and I’d read quite extensively on his wisdom.
I felt like it was such a great opportunity and I really enjoyed the moment.
Dharamshala is such a beautiful region and to get a snapshot into that region was really one of the highlights of being an international sports star.