The Ashes 2025-26: [Watch] Matthew Hayden takes sigh of relief on his "walking nude" statement after Joe Root's ton at the Gabba

Matthew Hayden reacted to Joe Root’s ton at the Gabba on Day 1 of the second Ashes 2025-26 test.

After sheer humiliation in Perth, England have started the day-night test at the Gabba on a positive note. After winning the toss, Ben Stokes put Australia to bowl first. It looked like a bad decision when the tourists lost their two wickets early.

But then it was Joe Root’s show, which took England to a comfortable position by the end of Day 1 in Brisbane. The no. 1 ranked test batter finally reached the three-figure mark on Australian soil and recorded his 40th century in test cricket.

He became only the fourth batter to reach 40 or more test centuries after Sachin Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (45), and Ricky Ponting. But out of 40, this was his first century down under, and it was a complete relief on his face once he achieved that.

It was a masterclass by Root as he came to the crease when England were 5/2 and the ball was swinging around. He negotiated the swing and started to take control of the game. That resulted in him getting the much-awaited century of his test career.

Matthew Hayden responds to Joe Root’s test century at The Gabba on Day 1

Root’s century came at the right time, and it helped England to finish Day 1 at 325/9, with an unbeaten 61-run stand between Root and Jofra Archer (32* off 26). The duo played some eye-catching strokes in the final half-hour of the day and took England past the 300-run mark.

Root’s century has certainly rattled Australia and their fans, but there was one former Australia player who was more relieved to see Root score a century at the Gabba. Matthew Hayden, who made a bold statement of “walking out nude at MCG” if Root finishes the Ashes 2025-26 without a century, congratulated the latter.

In a video shared on social media, Hayden said:“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.” As earlier he said, “I will walk nude around the MCG if he doesn’t make a hundred this summer.”

More than Root and England, it was Hayden who took a sigh of relief, as it saved him from an embarrassment. In an interview at Sky Sport, he said:

“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.”

Root finished unbeaten on 135 off 202 balls, with 15 fours and one maximum. Apart from him, opener Zak Crawley also played well for his 76 off 93. Mitchell Starc carried on from where he left off in Perth and took 6/71 on Day 1.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.