England batter Joe Root had a special message for former Australia opener Matthew Hayden and his family and also for the Australia cricket fans, after he scored his maiden Test century in Australia in the ongoing second Ashes 2025-26 Test in Brisbane.
Root remained unbeaten in England's first innings, returning with a score of 138 as the visitors posted 334 runs on the board.
Hayden, a former opening batsman for Australia, had threatened to walk around the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) nude if Root failed to score a century in the five-match Ashes. The England batsman saved Hayden and the Australian public in just three innings.
Hayden immediately applauded Root as he mentioned his first Test century in Australia, and he was even spotted reacting enthusiastically. Root finally responded to Hayden's compliments prior to the third day of play, stating that it was pleasant to hear kind words from a legendary batter.
"Actually, it's really nice of him to give me the confidence and backing in the first place. But yeah, it's kind of him to send those words, and he's obviously a great Australian, and he's done special things in the game. So obviously, it's nice to get that from him, but yeah, as well, to the Australian public that they don't have to witness that. And his family, I think, they'll be quite happy too,” Root said.
Following Root's century on the first day of the Gabba Test, Hayden joked that no one had "more skin in the game" than him, while also congratulating the former England captain on his well-deserved century in Australia.
“Congratulations, mate, on a hundred here in Australia. It took you a while, and there was no one who had more skin in the game than me. Literally, I was backing you for a hundred in a good way. Congratulations, ten fifties, and finally a hundred. You little ripper, mate. Have a beauty and bloody enjoy it,” said Hayden.
Australia has replied with 491/8 in the first innings at the time of writing this piece, thanks to half-centuries from Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Alex Carey, and Mitchell Starc, who was unbeaten on 77.
