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An elated Joe Root celebrates his first Ton in Australia during second Ashes Test at Gabba. (PHOTO: AP)
While giant mountain Matthew Hayden thanked Joe Root for saving everyone the embarrassment of watching him go naked at MCG, at the root of the claim was a disagreement with fellow firmer opener Greg Blewett.
After Root’s century, Hayden told TNT Sports, ‘I’m a very, very happy man, I must say. There are two people in my life who will be very happy and that is my wife and my daughter, because there is no way they want to see that happening. It was a magnificent day. Joe Root was class. The chances are you were going to buy Blue Chip shares in Joe Root.”
He gushed further, “Today he looked great. He just found a way to keep the ball really close under his eyes and just found the scoring options that are needed. On a good wicket as well,” adding Australia were on the backfoot and deserved scorn for dropping he spinner (Nathan Lyon) and their tardy over rates.
He also told Sky Cricket, “Most former cricketers will tell you that away runs are something that you’ll tend to get judged on. Especially in Australia, with the old enemy – we’re about to go 150 years next year. So when you think about it in the context of international sport and our two great nations that love to hate each other, it’s really important that you get that monkey off your back in a country like this, then you can go: “Boy I am on the highest of the high of world batsmen.”
The threat had started as a joke with former team-mate Greg Blewett on the All Over Bar The Cricket Podcast well before the action got underway. Hayden was staggered Blewett had not considered Root in his all-time best English top order. He chose Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook as his best English openers and Jonathan Trott was his favourite No 3 batsman, mostly because he wasn’t on a duck for the count of Ashes centuries in Australia. Blewett proceeded to pick Graham Thorpe at No 4, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff at five and six.” By then Hayden was aghast.
“I can’t believe you don’t have Joe Root in your team?’ Hayden asked Blewett on the pod. It’s when the Aussie who partnered Justin Langer briefly and turned out for South Australia, Kent, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, made a Zero with a circle of his thumb and index fingers.
‘Mate, I had that up,’ Blewett gestured. “That’s how many hundreds he’s made in Australia from 14 Tests… Zero! Hayden would gave nothing of it, given Root is second only to Sachin Tendulkar in Test runs.
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‘I’ll talk to you at the end of this summer. I’ll walk nude around the MCG if he doesn’t get a hundred this summer,” Hayden said outrageously.
Mercifully Root scored a century and last seen was swatting at the Aussies with Jofra Archer.
“Congratulations on a hundred here in Australia mate,” Hayden said in the non-aftermath.
“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. Congratulations, 10 fifties and finally a hundred. You little ripper mate, have a beauty and enjoy it.”
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