Hayden's Bold Ashes Bet: Ex-Opener Vows Nude MCG Walk if Root Fails to Score Century in Australia

Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden has social media buzzing with a tongue-in-cheek promise involving England’s Joe Root ahead of the 2025 Ashes. Speaking on the All Over Bar The Cricket YouTube channel, Hayden declared he was certain Root would finally end his wait for a Test century in Australia when England tour later this year. “I will walk nude around the MCG if he doesn't make a hundred this summer,” the 52-year-old said, drawing laughter from fellow panelists and viewers. The claim quickly went viral, with many taken aback by Hayden’s trademark wit. Adding to the humour, his daughter, sports presenter Grace Hayden, stepped in on the show’s Instagram page to make her own appeal to the England batter. “Please Joe Root, make a hundred,” she commented, adding a bit more laughter to her father’s bold prediction. Root, who will turn 35 in December, has an otherwise stellar Test record but has yet to reach three figures on Australian soil. In 14 matches across three tours Down Under, he has scored 892 runs at an average of 35.6, including nine half-centuries but no hundreds.Watch his bizarre prediction and promise here Globally, however, Root sits among the game’s greats. Since his debut in 2012, the right-hander has played 158 Tests, amassing 13,543 runs at an average of 51.29. He has 39 centuries and 66 fifties to his name, making him England’s leading century-maker and second only to Sachin Tendulkar in total Test runs. England begin their Ashes campaign on November 21 in Perth, and while attention will be firmly on Root’s quest for a maiden century in Australia, Hayden’s promise has ensured there will be just as much interest off the field.