'No one had more skin in the game' - Matthew Hayden congratulates Joe Root for maiden ton on Australian soil
Hayden had promised to walk around the MCG naked if Root didn't get to a century on Australia tour for the Ashes 2025-26.
Joe Root added the last feather in his illustrious cap by getting his first-ever hundred in Test cricket in Australia. The star batter did so during the second ongoing Test of the Ashes 2025-26 on the opening day at the Gabba in Brisbane. Batting in tough conditions, Root made his way brilliantly to his 40th century in the format, and former batter Matthew Hayden was among the first notable names to congratulate him.
Notably, Hayden had said that he was willing to walk around the Melbourne Cricket Ground completely naked if Root failed to make a century on the tour. Now that the former cricketer's prediction came true, he wished the England batter for his exceptional innings. In a video message, Hayden was seen saying that he had more skin in the game than anyone else, taking the social media into frenzy.
"Good day, Joe. Congratulations mate on the hundred here in Australia. Took you a while, and there was no one that had more skin in the game than me, literally. I was backing you in for the hundred in a good way. So mate, congratulations 10, 50s and finally 100. You little ripper, mate. Have a beauty and bloody enjoy it," Haydos said in a video posted by England Cricket on their official 'X' handle.
Watch the video of Hayden celebrating in joy after Root's hundred, here
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88Root came to the crease with the visitors being in a very precarious situation, having lost a couple of wickets very early on the opening day. Partnering alongside opener Zak Crawley, Root played the second fiddle in the 117-run stand between the two. Later, it was all about the experienced batter, who dominated session-after-session to put the Englishmen out of the spot of bother.
Root now has a century in all the countries he has played a minimum of five Tests in. He is yet to get to a century, only in Bangladesh (two matches) and the UAE (three matches) now. Root's lowest country-wise batting average has come in Bangladesh and Australia, despite having ten half-centuries and more than 1100 runs here.
Speaking of Hayden, he will be breathing a sigh of relief, as Root has saved him from a huge embarrassment of having to walk completely undressed in Melbourne.
“I’m concerned for multiple reasons. The last thing I want to do at 54 is spend the rest of my life in jail. But I tell you. And on a serious note, I probably didn’t see a lot of convincing evidence from Joe Root. I know that he loves to own that fifth and sixth stump channel and Australia will. They won’t need to go anywhere else other than that, after what I saw. And those little dabs, and the gather will be no different as well, especially under lights and pink ball. So it’s going to be a big challenge for Joe Root, and it’s even a bigger challenge for me," Hayden had said via Sky Sports before the second Test started.
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