Joe Root spared the world from seeing Matthew Hayden walking around the MCG without any clothes after scoring an impressive century against Australia on day one of the second Ashes Test
Australia cricket legend Matthew Hayden’s daughter has thanked England hero Joe Root for stopping her dad from stripping naked. Root bagged his first century Down Under on Thursday at the Gabba 12 years on from his first Ashes tour.
The ex-England captain would have felt a wave of joy and relief as he held his team’s batting together, but perhaps even that would not compare to the relief of Grace Hayden. Root, who was dropped on just two, scored 135 not out from 202 balls to spare her dad from fulfilling the obligations of a bet.
Hayden promised he would walk around the MCG naked if Root did not deliver a century on this tour. After scores of zero and eight in Perth, Hayden might have been getting a bit nervous about that promise, but Root spared him any further worry with his impressive knock.
Grace, a commentator, made her stance on the proceedings very clear as she took to Instagram. In a video she made the sign of the cross before saying: “Thank God.”
She captioned the video: “Root thank you you’ve saved all our eyes.”
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Aussie icon Hayden shared some of that feeling and was very aware he could have been landing himself in trouble with his wife and daughter if not for Root’s help.
The ex-opening batsman admitted he was ‘nervous’. Hayden said: “G’day, Joe. Congratulations, mate on a 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 for a hundred in a good way.
“So, mate congratulations. Ten fifties and finally a hundred, you little ripper, mate.”
He added: “No one wanted to see that. There are two people who will be more relieved than anyone else: that’s my wife and my daughter.
“I was counting down the innings, and I was a bit nervous.”
Root’s former captain Alastair Cook was able to offer more traditional praise. “Even Australia will have to admit he’s a great now,” he said on TNT Sports.
“It is a brilliant innings and just what England needed. “He’s been superb under pressure as always. He is England’s best batsman ever. He just gets better and better.”
