‘No one had more skin in the game’ – Matthew Hayden congratulates Joe Root for maiden ton on Australian soil

Joe Root added the last feather in his illustrious cap by getting his first-ever hundred in Test cricket in Australia. The star batter did so during the second ongoing Test of the Ashes 2025-26 on the opening day at the Gabba in Brisbane. Batting in tough conditions, Root made his way brilliantly to his 40th century in the format, and former batter Matthew Hayden was among the first notable names to congratulate him.

Notably, Hayden had said that he was willing to walk around the Melbourne Cricket Ground completely naked if Root failed to make a century on the tour. Now that the former cricketer’s prediction came true, he wished the England batter for his exceptional innings. In a video message, Hayden was seen saying that he had more skin in the game than anyone else, taking the social media into frenzy.

“Good day, Joe. Congratulations mate on the 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 in for the hundred in a good way. So mate, congratulations 10, 50s and finally 100. You little ripper, mate. Have a beauty and bloody enjoy it,” Haydos said in a video posted by England Cricket on their official ‘X’ handle.

Watch the video of Hayden congratulating Root here