Matthew Hayden has been finally cleared for the Australian cricket tour to New Zealand, a couple of hours before he boarded a plane to join his team mates in Sydney.

Hayden, who has been suffering from pleurisy - a lung inflammation related to pneumonia - has been bed-ridden for a week, unsure whether he would be able to make the tour.

But he batted for more than an hour in the nets through the heat of the day in Brisbane and declared himself ready to go.

The team flies from Sydney to Auckland.

"It was a tough week," Hayden said.

"I felt very sick. My lung capacity was way below 50 per cent. There was genuine reason to be really concerned.

"I felt not dissimilar to having pre-flu symptoms but as the week went on the pleurisy symptoms really started to hurt to the point where you just couldn't breathe in air.

"But I am on the road to recovery which is a good thing."

Hayden's specialist gave him the all-clear provided he came through the net session.

"I was very concerned about not making the tour. I think I was relying on how I was hitting the ball today. If I was feeling terrible after hitting balls in the nets it was a sure sign I wasn't fit.

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