Joe Root saves Australia cricket legend from embarrassing ordeal with England Ashes heroics

One neat flick off Scott Boland ensured that the wager died a merciful death.

Root reached three figures under the Gabba floodlights late on day one of the pink-ball Test, glancing a delivery down the leg side to the boundary to seal his milestone 40th Test hundred.

The roar from the England contingent was immediate. Across 16 Ashes Tests in Australia, Root had produced ten half-centuries yet never made it to triple figures; his previous best, 89, lingered as a symbol of repeated near-misses.

This time, however, there would be no heartbreak.

The moment triggered a light-hearted but relieved response from Hayden, who congratulated Root in a video posted by the ECB.

Let's cross LIVE to Matthew Hayden after Joe Root's century...

😂 #Ashes pic.twitter.com/4Wnnp5vsMN

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 4, 2025

“G’day Joe, congratulations mate. Took you a while and there was no-one that had more skin in the game than me, literally,” he said.

“Ten fifties and finally a hundred - good on ya mate, ripper knock.”

Root’s innings was more than a personal breakthrough.

England had been in crisis at 5 for 2 inside three overs, Mitchell Starc tearing through the top order as the pattern of Perth threatened to repeat itself.

Root steadied the innings with quiet authority, absorbing early pressure before asserting himself with a collection of typically controlled strokes.

His 181-ball century transformed the mood and allowed England to close on 325 for 9 - a position that offered genuine encouragement at a venue where they have traditionally been overwhelmed.

Hayden’s eccentric promise grew out of an earlier debate on the All Over Bar the Cricket podcast, when he took exception to Root being excluded from an all-time Ashes XI.

In full Australian bravado, he vowed that if Root again returned home without a century, he would “walk nude around the MCG.”

The remark instantly struck a chord among supporters, becoming an unusual subplot in the process.

Speaking after the first day, England star Zak Crawley hailed Root for his knock.

"Really good day. Unbelievable day for Joe [Root]. He has had that coming for a long time," he said. "Probably the best player I have we played with and against.

"Sometimes you don't get the rub of the green, but he didn't need the rub of the green. He just played a flawless knock.

"He made it look effortless. He has worked so hard on his game and he is a brilliant player. We are so chuffed and thrilled to bits for him."

He added: "The chat was to go hard and if we got out we could have had half an hour with them. They [Joe Root and Jofra Archer] got some crucial runs - a phenomenal effort and it puts us in a good position tomorrow.

"Sitting here as an England player, I think it is our day."