Matthew Hayden prepares to take on Justin Langer's Australia: "It is a very unusual feeling"

Hayden, Pakistan's batting coach, opened the batting with Langer for over a decade. Now, the former left-handers face one another in a T20 World Cup semi-final

For years, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer were partners in crime as one of the all-time great alliances at the top of an international batting order.

Now, they find themselves in different changing rooms: Langer as Australia’s head coach; Hayden as a surprise package among Pakistan’s backroom staff, helping to oversee the fortunes of this competition’s form team.

Judging by all the evidence, he has thrown himself into the role, caught laughing and joking whenever the cameras have panned to him during play, and speaking with great enthusiasm about his charges.

“It is a very unusual feeling,” he said, speaking on Wednesday. “I was a warrior for Australian cricket over two decades, so that does give me the benefit of having wonderful insights not only into these players but also into the culture of cricket in Australia.

“Justin Langer and myself are in similar positions insofar as a national coach or a batting coach never wins a game of cricket. The eleven that take part in the game win the game, and we are backup only. But backup is something that I've really enjoyed over the last month, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this group of young men take forward the challenge of this semi-final match.”

Aaron Finch called Hayden’s involvement “brilliant” – and a legacy of the T20 franchise circuit, where roving coaches are par for the course. “I think it’s great to see the greats of Australian cricket crossing over into other countries and helping out as much as they can.”

^{Babar Azam is in the running to end the tournament as its leading run-scorer}

In a piece with the Daily Telegraph, Hayden described sitting down to read the Quran with Mohammad Rizwan, the team’s vice-captain, who bought him an English translation of the book.

“We sat on the floor for half an hour and talked through it,” he explained. “I am reading a bit of it each day. Rizzy is one of my favourite individuals, a champion human being.”

He also touched on Dean Jones, a former teammate and colleague, who passed away last year. A pioneering white-ball cricketer for Australia, in his second career as a coach and mentor, he gave much of himself to the game in Pakistan.

Hayden recalled: “His closing words to me I can hear in my ears was ‘These are my boys; this is something I’m so passionate about.’ He was just beautifully connected to Pakistan Cricket. May he rest in peace now, knowing that fact that he’s left a legacy within this team, which will last not only this generation but generations to come.

“If I can add any value to those closing comments from Deano, that would be my greatest honour.”

It is a relationship that has only existed for five games so far, but he speaks as if he has known his players for much longer.

“Babar and his personality is what you see is what you get,” he says of his captain. “He’s very consistent. He’s very stable. He's not overly flamboyant. In fact, I’d go as far as to say he's almost the opposite personality to someone like Virat Kohli.”

On Fakhar Zaman, who he praises as Pakistan’s outstanding fielder, Hayden added: “He is a very interesting personality and character, and the longer that I spend time with him, the more that I really enjoy his personality and character. The fact that he was in the Navy for seven years gives you a pretty strong indication of his ability to be able to fight and fight hard.”

^{Aaron Finch praised Matthew Hayden for his involvement with Pakistan's squad}

Pakistan hold the only unbeaten record in this tournament as they head into an enormous clash on Thursday, with Australia – much improved as the games have gone on – lying in wait. Unsurprisingly, Hayden pinpoints the ten-wicket victory over India as the starting point for a momentum that has not yet been reined by any opponent.

“With the right leadership and monitoring and guidance, I think this side has got the possibilities to take on anyone,” he explained.

“I think that game really set us up for what has been a really lovely four weeks of solid work, great commitment to training, great purpose in general, and also a wonderful heart connect to Islam and how spirituality has played its role within the Pakistan team as a great guide and tool for everyone to come together.”