Hayden had famously vowed to “walk nude around the MCG” if Root failed to score a hundred during this Ashes summer.
So the moment Root reached the landmark, Hayden congratulated him in a light-hearted message, saying he had been “literally” invested in the outcome.
“Congrats, mate, on your hundred in Australia. It took a while, and no one had more skin in the game than me — literally,” Hayden joked in a video shared by England Cricket on X.
Root’s maiden century on Australian soil came at the Gabba in Brisbane in the second Test, ending a wait that spanned 16 matches, 30 innings, and four tours over more than a decade.
His 181-ball effort provided England with much-needed stability and checked off one of the few remaining milestones missing from his illustrious career.
