Hayden to ‘walk n*de around MCG’ if Root doesn’t score ton on Australia tour

Legendary Australian batter Matthew Hayden on Friday made a startling bet on Joe Root breaking his Test century drought Down Under in this year’s Ashes, scheduled to get underway on November 21 in Perth.

Despite being the second-highest run-scorer in Test history, Root has yet to score a century in Australia, with 892 runs at an average of 35.68.

However, since 2022, when Australia last hosted the blockbuster Test series, the right-handed batter has scored 15 centuries at an average of 64.64.

Root’s meteoric rise in Test cricket fuelled the buzz around his century drought in Australia, especially with the Ashes approaching.

While a few former Australian cricketers took a dig at Root over his century drought in Australia in a build-up to this year’s Ashes, legendary opening batter Hayden put all on the line, backing the 34-year-old to finally break the jinx this summer.

“I will walk n*de around the MCG if he doesn’t make a hundred this summer,” said Hayden during the All Over Bar The Cricket YouTube podcast.

The former cricketer’s bold claim quickly went viral on social media and raised eyebrows, while his daughter Grace Hayden, an emerging sports presenter, added to the humour by making a plea to Root.

“Please Joe Root, make a hundred,” Grace commented on the Instagram post shared by All Over Bar The Cricket.

For the unversed, Root, who made his Test debut in 2012, has thus far played 158 matches for England and has scored 13543 runs at a magnificent average of 51.29 with the help of 39 centuries and 66 half-centuries.