Subhechcha Ganguly 
England star Joe Root had a warm — and cheeky — message for the Australian public and Matthew Hayden’s family after scoring his first Test hundred on Australian soil. The 34-year-old finally broke his century drought Down Under with a brilliant unbeaten 138 in the second Ashes Test at the Gabba, steering England past 330 in the first innings.
Before the series, former Australia opener Matthew Hayden had boldly declared he would walk around the Melbourne Cricket Ground naked if Root failed to score a century in the five-match Ashes. Root needed just three innings to save Hayden — and the Australian crowd — from the stunt.
After the England batter reached his milestone, Hayden congratulated him with an animated reaction. Ahead of Day 3, Root responded to the praise, saying it felt special to hear such encouraging words from a cricketing legend.
“Actually, it’s really nice of him to give me the confidence and backing in the first place. It was kind of him to send those words, and obviously he’s an Australian great who’s done special things in the game,” Root said.
