By IANS,
Melbourne : Australian opener Matthew Hayden gave indications of his return to the side for the second Test against West Indies in Antigua when he had a practice session at Sabina Park after the first Test.
Hayden was sorely missed in the first Test with Phil Jaques and Simon Katich hardly troubling the scorers.
With a battery of Australians fielding, coach Tim Nielsen threw balls to Hayden, who is struggling with an achilles tendon injury. Hayden ran between the wicket after hitting some crisp shots.
Watched by physiotherapist Alex Kountouris, Hayden walked off the ground after the session with only a slight limp.
He is not a certain starter for the second Test, but skipper Ricky Ponting hopes the opener can play.
“He has improved a lot in the last few days,” Ponting was quoted as saying in Herald Sun Wednesday.
“The pain he had is certainly a lot less now. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that he comes up.”
If Hayden is fit, Katich and Brad Hodge will miss out because Michael Clarke has trained well since his delayed arrival in the West Indies because of personal reasons.