Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden made a bold announcement ahead of the Ashes, saying he will walk around the Melbourne Cricket Ground naked if England’s Joe Root does not score a century in this winter’s Test series.
So, how nervous is Hayden feeling after Root’s scores of zero and eight in the first Test in Perth, which the tourists lost inside two days after an epic surrender.
“I’m worried for many reasons!” baggy greens great told sky sports cricket podcast He joins Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton ahead of the day-night second Test in Brisbane from Thursday (4am UK & Ireland time).
“The last thing I want to do at 54 is spend the rest of my life in prison! However, on a serious note, I probably haven’t seen a lot of solid evidence from Root in Perth.”
Root, England’s all-time leading run-scorer but still unable to score a Test century in Australia after 15 matches and 29 innings, was out twice off the bowling of Mitchell Starc in the series opener, caught behind in the first innings and missing an uphill drive in the second innings.
Hayden said: “I know Joe would love to own the fifth and sixth stump channels and from what I’ve seen, Australia won’t need to go anywhere else – those little channels.
“The Gabba will be no different, especially with the pink ball under lights. It will be a big challenge for Root.”
‘If he had shown awareness of the game, England would have been ahead 1-0’
England were in such a strong position at lunch on the second day of the first Test that they reached 59–1 and a lead of 99, but were bowled out for 164 in the afternoon session.
At one stage, they lost three wickets without conceding any runs in six balls, getting screwed on Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and then Root Drive, a no-no on the fast and bouncy Optus Stadium surface.
With Australia chasing 205 to win, Travis Head, promoted to open the batting following Usman Khawaja’s back problem, scored a century off 69 balls in an innings of 123 off 83 balls as the hosts returned home in just 28.2 overs, leaving England captain Ben Stokes “stunned”.
Hayden added, “When England were effectively 100-1, a little more calculated risk through a little match awareness and Australia ended up being 1-0 up.
“Brooke is a very good player. The timing and class he has puts him a cut above other English batsmen.
“Surely he himself would want a longer batting performance? If he had a little more ability to handle pressure, I honestly believe we would be seeing a different result.”
On batting more generally, Hayden said: “I think it’s always worth letting your eyes adjust, getting a feel for the conditions. It could be a period of four or five overs where you change gears.
“You can’t watch a Ferrari barreling into a corner at 350mph – they have to step back, go through the gears. That’s batting, and why it takes so long to learn this great game.”
What can we learn from Crawley Head’s brilliant innings?
Jack Crawley got a pair in Perth – the first for an England opener since Atherton in South Africa in 1999 – resulting in his average falling below 31.
So, what would Hayden’s advice be to the batsman ahead of the day-night match in Brisbane?
“He needs to find his natural rhythm. My method was to tire a bowler at the Gabba – the moment I started thinking about playing square to the wicket here, I would be out. I would think the cut and then second slip would be in his hands.
“Jack is a natural striker of the ball but I don’t think if I was coaching him I would have asked him to do that in the first 30 or 40 minutes.
“With Head in Perth the other day, we all remember his tremendous innings – but we won’t remember the work he did in the shadows leading that great attack. He had at least 20 balls where he withstood the pressure.”
Dog thrower guilty of faulty batting technique?
Finally, in the era of fast-paced Test matches, Hayden explained why he feels batting skill has diminished somewhat.
“Is the new technology capable of maintaining pressure on wickets that are getting little movement with the new ball? The answer is clearly no.
“My theory is that Wenger (the dog thrower) who is throwing the ball down the field at a million miles an hour is not giving the players enough time to move their legs.
“I see people taking their initial balancing step – it might be a bit of a push – but then they don’t move forward a second time.
“I think there’s too much reliance on [these devices] As opposed to seeing signs. The bowlers give you proof. You can look at a fast bowler and know it will be short.
“Playing so much T20 cricket it transfers to the longest format as well.”
If Root’s technique isn’t perfect from now on, we could be seeing a naked Matthew Hayden. It’s quite a mental image…
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
UK and Ireland all the time
- 1st Test (Perth – 21-25 November): Australia defeated England by eight wickets
- Second Test (day/night): Thursday 4 December – Monday 8 December (4am) – Gabba, Brisbane
- Third Test: Wednesday 17 December – Sunday 21 December (11.30pm) – Adelaide Oval
- Fourth Test: Thursday 25 December – Monday 29 December (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Fifth Test: Sunday 4 January – Thursday 8 January (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground