Ashes 2025: Will Joe Root Score a Century or Will Hayden Walk Nude at the MCG?
In a moment that had both cricket fans and social media buzzing, former Australian opener Matthew Hayden made a bold and cheeky prediction about England’s Test batting star Joe Root ahead of the Ashes 2025. Speaking on the All Over Bar The Cricket YouTube channel, Hayden declared he would “walk nude around the MCG” if Root failed to score a century this summer in Australia.
With England set to begin their five-match Ashes series on November 21 in Perth, Hayden expressed full confidence that Root would finally break his century drought in Australia.
“I will walk nude around the MCG if he doesn’t make a hundred this summer,” Hayden quipped, leaving the panel and viewers in stitches.
The remark quickly went viral, triggering waves of laughter across cricketing circles. Even Hayden’s daughter, sports presenter Grace Hayden, joined the fun on Instagram, pleading with Root to save her the embarrassment of watching her father’s outrageous stunt. “Please Joe Root, make a hundred,” she commented, sparking another round of online chuckles.
Root’s Australian Century Drought
Despite being regarded as one of the finest batters of the modern era, Joe Root has never scored a Test century in Australia. In 14 Ashes Tests Down Under, he has made 892 runs at an average of 35.6, with nine half-centuries but no three-figure score — a glaring omission in his otherwise illustrious career.
Overall, the 34-year-old has been a run machine for England. Since his debut against India in 2012, Root has played 134 Tests, scoring 13,543 runs at an impressive average of 51.29. He is England’s all-time leading run-scorer and centurion in Tests, with 30 hundreds and 69 fifties, ranking him fourth on the global list of most Test centuries. Only Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs) sits ahead of him on the all-time runs chart.
What makes Root’s Australian drought even more puzzling is his sensational form in recent years. Since 2021, Root has scored 5,720 runs in 61 Tests at an average of 56.63, including 22 centuries and 17 fifties — the best purple patch of his career.
High Stakes for Root in Ashes 2025
The Ashes rivalry remains cricket’s fiercest contest, and Root knows that silencing his critics in Australia would cement his place among the all-time greats. With his consistency, form, and experience, many believe this series could finally be the one where he raises his bat for three figures Down Under.
Meanwhile, fans are now equally curious about Matthew Hayden’s “nude promise” at the MCG if Root fails again. Whether the former Aussie opener will have to test his bravado in front of thousands or Root will finally end his drought adds a hilarious subplot to an already high-voltage series.
One thing is certain — when the Ashes gets underway, cricket fans will be watching not just Root’s bat, but also Hayden’s wardrobe choices.
