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Matthew Hayden's daughter issues mic-drop reaction to Joe Root's maiden Test century in Australia: ‘Saved all our eyes’
Here's what Matthew Hayden's daughter Grace had to say about Joe Root's maiden Test century in Australia.
No one was more relieved than Matthew Hayden after Joe Root finally ended his century drought in Australia. The England legend finally scored a Test ton Down Under as he brought up the feat on the opening day of the second Ashes Test at the Gabba, Brisbane, on Thursday. One would assume that Hayden wouldn't be happy to see the right-hander go past the three-figure mark, but that's not the case, as he had “more skin” in the game than you would expect.
It is worth mentioning that before the century in Brisbane, Root's record in Australia was questionable, with several pundits and fans taking potshots at him for not scoring a century Down Under. Ahead of the Ashes, the entire build-up was about whether the 34-year-old could finally break the jinx. Before the first Test in Perth, former Australia opening batter Hayden had exuded confidence in Root, saying he would walk naked around the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) if the England batter didn't register a ton this time around.
Also Read: Ashes 2nd Test LIVE Score, AUS vs ENG: Check our live coverage here
Hence, with Root finally going past the milestone of the bowling of Scott Boland, Hayden can breathe a sigh of relief. Apart from Hayden, one more person is more than relieved, and that is his daughter, Grace.
Also Read: Joe Root saves Matthew Hayden from running nude with 40th Test century
Grace took to Instagram Stories to congratulate Root, and it was then that she made a tongue-in-cheek remark. Taking to the platform, she shared a selfie and captioned it as, “Root, thank you, you've saved all our eyes.”
Earlier, immediately after Root's maiden Test ton in Australia, Hayden issued a reaction, congratulating the batter, who now has 40 centuries in the longest format.
“Congratulations, mate, on a hundred here in Australia. Took you a while, and there was no one who had more skin in the game than me, literally. I was backing you for a hundred in a good way,” said Hayden in a video posted by the official handle of England Cricket.
England dominate Day 1
The opening day of the pink-ball Test saw England post 325/9 on the board. At one stage, it seemed that the visitors would be bundled out for less than 275, but the final half an hour saw Root and Jofra Archer going hell for leather and taking the tired Aussie attack to the cleaners.
Mitchell Starc also continued with his outstanding record with the pink ball as he scalped six wickets, leading the pace attack in the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Earlier, it was England captain Ben Stokes who won the toss and opted to bat first. Zak Crawley also chipped in a 76-run knock off 93 balls with the help of 11 boundaries.
