How Joe Root's Gabba century saved Grace Hayden's father from walking naked at

Joe Root's first Test century on Australian soil not only steadied England on Day 1 of the second Ashes Test, but it also spared Matthew Hayden from one of the most peculiar public dares ever tossed around in cricket banter. Earlier this summer, the Australian icon had boldly asserted that he would 'run nude around the MCG' if Root failed to score a hundred in Australia. What began as light-hearted pre-series jest quickly transformed into a global topic of discussion, largely thanks to Hayden's daughter, Grace Hayden.

As he entered the pink-ball Test at The Gabba, Root carried an unexpected statistic with him. Despite his remarkable achievements, including nearly 12,000 Test runs and numerous centuries, he had never managed to score a Test hundred in Australia. This was a curious void in