Joe Root finally scored his first Test hundred in Australia as the England legend broke a major hoodoo in his career.
Root, one of the greatest batsman of all-time, averages more than 50 in Test cricket and has the second most runs ever behind Sachin Tendulkar.
However, his critics, mainly from Australia, have used his record Down Under as a stick to beat him with, even suggesting that puts him down the ranks when measuring the best players in history.
Ahead of this Test, Root averaged 33.33 in Australia across 15 matches, a significant dip on his career average of 50.94.
But on the first day of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane, Root batted superbly to tick off that milestone.
Root made it there in the final session of the day as he tickled Scott Boland down to the fine leg boundary for four.
Root’s milestone was met with a rapturous celebration from the travelling England fans, who broke out into a rendition of his song.
The Yorkshireman looked delighted as he took his helmet off, before he shrugged his shoulders and beamed.
Meanwhile, there was one Australian who may have been celebrating Root’s achievement too.
Aussie great Matthew Hayden had promised to walk around the Melbourne Cricket Ground nude if Root didn’t reach the milestone over the series.
Speaking to his former team-mate Greg Blewett on the All Over Bar The Cricket Podcast before the action got underway, Hayden was left infuriated when Blewett had omitted Root from his all-time best English top order.
Blewett named Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook as his best English openers. Jonathan Trott was his favourite No 3 batsman. Blewett picked Graham Thorpe at No 4, before selecting Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff at five and six.
‘I can’t believe you don’t have Joe Root in your team?’ Hayden asked Blewett.
Blewett, who also played cricket for South Australia, Kent, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, held up a circle with his fingers.
‘Mate, I had that up,’ Blewett said, raising the ‘0’. ‘That’s how many hundreds he’s made in Australia from 14 Tests… Zero!’
But Hayden disagreed with the 54-year-old.
‘I’ll talk to you at the end of this summer,’ he replied. ‘I’ll walk nude around the MCG if he doesn’t get a hundred this summer.’
And, addressing Root on England’s official X account after he passed his ton, Hayden said: ‘G’day Joe. Congratulations mate on a hundred here in Australia.
‘Took you a while, and there was no-one that had more skin in the game than me, literally!
‘I was backing you here for a 100 in a good way. So mate, congrats, ten 50s and finally a 100, you little ripper mate. Have a beauty and bloody enjoy it.’
England finished day one on 325-9, with Zak Crawley also making 76 before Jofra Archer struck some lusty blows to end on 32 not out alongside Root, who will begin Friday’s play on 135.
