Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden has expressed confidence that England’s Joe Root will register his first Test century in Australia during the Ashes 2025-26. Root is expected to play a pivotal role for England in the highly anticipated series later this year.
Root, who has scored over 13,500 runs, is the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket after Sachin Tendulkar, with 39 centuries to his name. Despite his prolific career, he has yet to score a Test century on Australian soil. In 14 Tests in Australia, Root has accumulated 892 runs, including nine half-centuries, with a highest score of 89.
Interestingly, all four of Root’s Test centuries against Australia have come at home in England. The 34-year-old has also never reached triple figures in Australia in ODIs or T20Is. As a result, the Ashes 2025-26 presents him with a chance to achieve his maiden century in Australia across international formats.
Matthew Hayden promises to walk nude at MCG if Joe Root fails to score a century
Australian batting legend Matthew Hayden has made a bold prediction ahead of the Ashes 2025-26, expressing confidence that England’s Joe Root will break his century drought in Australia. Speaking on the All Over Bar the Cricket podcast on YouTube, Matthew Hayden jokingly declared that he would walk nude around the Melbourne Cricket Ground if Root fails to score a hundred during the series.
“I will walk nude around the MCG if he doesn’t make a hundred this summer,” Matthew Hayden said.
Root has been in sensational form in Test cricket since 2021. During the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, he surpassed the likes of Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, and Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket. Matthew Hayden also topped the charts for England in the five-match series, amassing 537 runs at an average of 67.12.
The Ashes 2025-26 is set to begin on November 21 with the opening Test in Perth, while the fifth and final Test will take place from January 4-8, 2026, in Sydney. This series will mark the second Test series for both England and Australia in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-27 cycle.