#RandomCricketPhotosThatMakeMeHappy

From the outside, Australian cricket is all shades of macho. From inside, it's an eclectic mix of a lot of things that belie that macho outer appearance. Here's a special photo of Matthew Hayden celebrating the 5-0 decimation of England

in 2006-07 Ashes with his long-time opening partner Justin Langer who was making his final appearance for Australia in this match. And that might be the reason we see so much emotion oozing out of Haydos, who can be seen placing a kiss on his partner's forehead.

Hayden and Langer scored more than 6,000 runs together for Australia and shared a very close bond, as most successful opening pairs generally do. Interestingly, their bond was deeply anchored in their deep belief in their religion - Christianity.

A common ritual during their partnership that began in 2002 was something unique but at the same time beautiful. Before they faced the first delivery bowled at them, Langer would make a mark on the middle stump. Then Hayden would cross it when he took strike.

At the bowler's end Hayden would mark centre and then Langer would proceed to cross it. This way, every ball they faced, they were looking down at a perfect cross before looking at the bowler.

While recalling the ritual, Hayden said, 'When we marked the sign of the cross at the crease I would always say a silent prayer: "Whatever happens today is in your hands."

Well, the staggering numbers tell that those hands took good care of the two Aussies.

Photo by Tom Shaw