Matthew Hayden in a post-match interview
Among the Fab 4, Virat Kohli has scored 7 centuries, Kane Williamson has scored 2, and Steven Smith, taking the home ground advantage, has scored 18 centuries. But Joe Root has not managed to score even a single century in Australia, amidst which Matthew Hayden has given a huge statement. Recently, Hayden said:
I will walk naked around the MCG if Joe Root fails to score a Test century in the Ashes in Australia.
This statement from Hayden has also invited several memes and trolls from the fans on Twitter.
Pat Cummins, the Australian captain, is known for accomplishing the targets, whether it was silencing the crowd in the 2023 World Cup final or retaining the Ashes against England at their own home ground. Now, with the Ashes taking place at their own home ground, Australia is already having some edge, which might have relieved Cummins a bit, noting the fact that he might not have such targets this time.
But with the statements of Matthew Hayden, it may seem that Cummins could change his mind and set a target to restrict Root from scoring a century. A Twitter user reacted to his statement, saying that Cummins would surely want to watch Matthew Hayden walk around the ground as per his statement, for which he’ll take up the Root challenge.
Over his entire cricketing career in the Test format, Joe Root has dominated across every corner of the world, but never in Australia. With him failing to score a century in Australia, the questions heavily come down to the English analysts whether Root should be considered as the greatest Test batsman of this era or not?
However, with the statements given by Matthew Hayden, it is not just that Root will be scoring a century to shut down the trolls; he has another thing on the line. Responding to the statements by Hayden, a Twitter user said that now Joe Root must score a century if he wants to save humanity.
Across the 14 Test matches played by Joe Root in Australia, he has managed to score just 9 half-centuries, but never reached even the 90-run mark. From 2013 to 2022, Root’s consistency in not scoring a century in Australia has given hope to the Indian fans that he might not be able to do it again this time.
With the statement given by Matthew Hayden, the Indian fans are also in favour of Joe Root not scoring a century in the upcoming Ashes. Since Joe Root is also among the most loved foreign players in the country, a Twitter user took context from the same and replicated it with a famous Bollywood meme. Root says he won’t be turning away from the same.
Ever since his first Test series in Australia, Joe Root has looked promising to the fans. But he has not been lucky enough to convert his half-centuries to a big total, which has been a problem for him over the last decade. Currently, Joe Root looks to be having another prime year, which might make it possible for him to score a century in the upcoming Ashes.
A Twitter user, however, came up with a plan that Joe Root must have thought of. With the statements given by Matthew Hayden, Root must be thinking that he should try getting Hayden naked this time by not scoring a century in the upcoming Ashes series. If this happens, it would surely be the betrayal of the century in cricket history.
Indian fans have supported Joe Root in the majority of the Test matches he has played. The only times they wanted him to fail were during the games against India or at the times when he was nearing Virat Kohli’s record in the Test format. With the India tour of England coming to an end, fans thought that the time to support Joe Root was back.
However, Matthew Hayden’s statement helped them to play an UNO reverse card just in time, as a Twitter user reacted to the same. He requested Joe Root to fail this time, which made the other fans wonder whether he wanted to see Hayden naked. But he responded by saying that he just wants to see the commitment of Hayden.
If we take a look at the tours that have been the most pressurising for Joe Root, the tours of Australia will be at the top of the list. It is clear to the fans that the upcoming Ashes will be a tough one for him, and the statements made by Matthew Hayden have just made it worse. Root just won’t be having his records on the line, but also the dignity of Hayden.
Reacting to this, a Twitter user said that the real pressure will not be on Joe Root; it will be on the security guards of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The statement of Hayden to walk down naked if Root won’t score a century must have led the MCG security guards to prepare themselves to pull Hayden back to the stands.
Matthew Hayden has always been making his confidential statements for the English players. But none of his statements ever made has been as confidential as the one he made for Joe Root. Out of the 14 Test matches Joe Root has played in Australia, he has never managed to score a century, even in an innings.
With Hayden making a statement that he will walk naked around the ground if Root goes without scoring a century in the upcoming Ashes, fans think he could have come up with some better options for himself. To this, a Twitter user reacted with a hilarious Bollywood meme from the iconic 3 Idiots movie, saying, “Ashleel hai ye Launda”, to Matthew Hayden.
The Australian bowling line-up is always ready for the tough challenges put in front of them. Whether it was the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where the Indian batsmen included stars like Kohli, Rohit, Jaiswal, and many more, or the upcoming Ashes, where England will have Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, and more.
However, a Twitter user said that the main focus of the Australian bowlers must have shifted towards Joe Root, following the statements made by Matthew Hayden. It now seems that the hunger has been built inside the bowling line-up of the Aussies, being led by Hazlewood, Starc, and Cummins, making them lose their appetite to take his wicket in all 10 innings.
Mitchell Starc, who recently announced his retirement from the T20 format to focus on the Test, seems to be all prepared for the upcoming Ashes. He has dominated lately for the Australian team, whether it is a red ball Test or a pink ball Test, and once again, he will be going against Joe Root, which makes it a battle between two legendary players.
Throughout his career, Mitchell Starc has dominated Joe Root, taking his wicket 8 times in the Test format. With the statements made by Matthew Hayden, fans have started to think that Mitchell Starc will be bowling the majority of his overs against Joe Root, to ensure that he doesn’t reach the 100-run mark in any inning.
Out of all the matches played by Joe Root in Australia, he has never scored a century, and it should be noted that he has also not touched the 90-run mark. His highest score in Australia remains 89, and now, with the statements made by Matthew Hayden, all eyes will be on him if he crosses his best score of 89.
A Twitter user created a perfect situation for Joe Root and Matthew Hayden after the statements made by the latter. He said that imagine Joe Root scored more than 90 runs and then got out intentionally, after which fans will be putting up the pressure on Matthew Hayden to complete what he said in the statement before. If this happens during the upcoming Ashes, we all know whose side Joe Root actually was.