November 06, 2007	Tuesday	Shawwal 24, 1428

BRISBANE, Nov 5: After six years as Justin Langer’s full-time partner, Matthew Hayden is about to parade his new public relationship when he walks out at the Gabba with Phil Jaques.

The duo flirted as batting partners a couple of times over the past two years when Langer was injured, but now the men have the chance to improve something special of their own as they try to continue the impressive collections of the previous combination.

At times Jaques must have felt like he was the third wheel in a love affair.

Since January, when Langer declared his break-up with Hayden and the Test team, Jaques has been linked to the position and he will begin life as a first-choice partner against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Hayden first seriously bonded with Jaques over a can of tinned stew during last year’s boot camp and he wants to develop the relationship, but he realises the feelings of batting with Langer will never be recaptured.

“We’d played since 1990 together, that’s 17 years of knowing each other very intimately,” he said as the Australia squad completed its first training session. “Day in day out, playing against each other or with each other, you just can’t replace that.”

John Buchanan’s boot camp gave Hayden and Jaques an idea of what to expect when the other was under extreme pressure. As members of Team Alpha they completed strenuous hikes, coped with sleep deprivation and shared cold stew and bread for dinner.

”It tasted dreadful but we got through it,” Hayden said. “It was a lot of fun and a good start. It’s something I believe we can draw from.”

Hayden terms Jaques a very steady character and believes he will settle comfortably and quickly into the Test set-up, saying: “I’m not worried about Phil’s game at all. I have zero concerns about that.”

Jaques opened with 2 and 28 in his first Test against South Africa when Langer had a rib injury and he scored 66 after coming in when Langer missed the 2006 Bangladesh tour to recover from concussion.—Agencies