Controversies
In the 2003 New Year's Test in Sydney against England, Hayden smashed a pavilion window in anger, after disagreeing with an umpire's decision to give him out. He was fined for this incident.
He was a party to the controversy that emerged from the Second Test, 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy racism charges pressed by Australia against India, and was one of the witnesses for Andrew Symonds's charges against Harbhajan Singh. As a fallout of that instance in February 2008, Hayden was charged for a code of conduct violation by Cricket Australia, for calling the Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh an obnoxious little weed, and for inviting Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma for a boxing bout, during an interview aired on Brisbane radio station; he was also heard to mimic Sharma's Indian accent in this exchange. He was reprimanded for his comment by Cricket Australia, but maintained his innocence.
He was strongly criticized by the BCCI and former Pakistan team captain Wasim Akram for reportedly calling India a third world country. Back home after a 2–0 series defeat by India, Hayden spoke about what he perceived to be poor ground conditions and inordinate delays during the matches "that happen in Third World countries". However, Hayden defended his remarks.
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