Joe Root Prevents Matthew Hayden's Nude Run at MCG After Maiden Ashes Century
Australian cricket legend Matthew Hayden can finally relax. He won’t have to fulfill his promise of running naked at the MCG after all. Why? Because Joe Root has finally broken his Australia jinx, scoring his first Ashes century down under on his sixth tour. This was the first time he raised his bat on Australian soil in any format. But there was someone even more confident than Root. Before the Ashes 2025-26 kicked off, Hayden had made a bet that if Root didn’t score a century on this tour, he would run naked at the MCG.
Joe Root, who previously had a highest score of 89 in Australia during a Test, played a brilliant innings. While Mitchell Starc was firing on all cylinders, Root held his ground. After being at 5/2, he formed a solid 117-run partnership with Zack Crawley to stabilize the innings. He then added another 54 runs with Harry Brook. Root completed his maiden Test century in Australia just before the end of Day 1 of the AUS vs ENG Gabba Test.
As Root celebrated his 40th Test hundred, and his first in Australia, Hayden stepped out of the commentary box to join in the celebration. It was a moment of victory not just for Root, but for Hayden as well.
Also Read
Joe Root Scores 40th Test Century
Having already scored four centuries in the West Indies, three each in India and New Zealand, and one each in South Africa and Pakistan, Australia was the last hurdle for him. He finally got that long-awaited hundred when England was under pressure in the Brisbane Pink-ball Test.
His century, along with some explosive shots from Jofra Archer in the final overs, helped England finish the day at 325/9 in 74 overs. Against Australia at home, Root had already smashed four centuries and nine fifties.
With this century, Joe Root became only the fourth player in history to score 40 or more Test centuries, joining the ranks of Sachin Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (45), and Ricky Ponting (41).
Given his current form, Root is closing in on breaking Tendulkar’s record of 51 Test centuries. His closest competitors are Steve Smith and Kane Williamson, especially with Virat Kohli having stepped away from the longest format of the game.