So, how nervous is Hayden feeling after Root’s scores of nought and eight in the first Test at Perth, which the tourists went on to lose inside two days after an epic capitulation.
“I am concerned for multiple reasons!” the Baggy Greens great told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast as he joined Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton ahead of the day-night second Test in Brisbane from Thursday (4am UK and Ireland time).
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“The last thing I want to do at 54 is spend the rest of my life in jail! On a serious note, though, I probably didn’t see a lot of convincing evidence from Root in Perth.”
Root, England’s all-time leading run-scorer but still without a Test ton in Australia after 15 matches and 29 knocks, was out to Mitchell Starc twice in the series opener, caught behind in the first innings before chopping on driving on the up in the second.
Hayden added: “I know Joe loves to own that fifth and sixth stump channel and Australia won’t need to go anywhere other than that from what I saw – those little dabs.
“The Gabba will be no different, especially under lights with the pink ball. It will be a big challenge for Root.”
‘England would be 1-0 up if they had shown game awareness’
England were in such a dominant position at lunch on day two of the first Test, reaching 59-1 and holding a lead of 99, only to subside in the afternoon session to be rolled for 164.
At one stage, they lost three wickets for no runs in six balls with Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and then Root perishing on the drive, a no-no on a fast and bouncy Optus Stadium surface.
With Australia chasing 205 to win, Travis Head – promoted to open the batting after Usman Khawaja’s back issues – smashed a 69-ball hundred in his 123 from 83 deliveries as the hosts romped home in 28.2 overs, leaving England captain Ben Stokes “shellshocked”.
Hayden added: “When England were effectively 100-1, a tiny bit of match awareness through a bit more of a calculated risk and Australia are finished. You are 1-0 up.
“Brook is such a good player. He looked head and shoulders above the other English batters with the amount of time he has, the class.
“Surely he himself would want a prolonged batting performance? If he had a bit more capacity to absorb pressure, I honestly believe we’d be looking at a different result.”
On batting more generally, Hayden said: “I think it’s always worth letting your eyes adjust, feel out the conditions. It might be a four or five-over period where you shift gears.
“You don’t see a Ferrari plummeting around a corner at 350mph – they have to back off, go through gears. That’s batsmanship, and why it takes so long to learn this great game.”
What can Crawley learn from stunning Head innings?
Zak Crawley bagged a pair in Perth – the first for an England opener since Atherton in South Africa in 1999 – with his average dipping below 31 as a result.
So, what would be Hayden’s advice for the batter ahead of the day-nighter in Brisbane?
“He needs to find his natural tempo. My method was to wear down a bowler at The Gabba – the moment I started to think about playing square of the wicket here, I would get out. I’d think cut and then second slip would have it in his hands.
“Zak is a natural striker of the ball but I don’t think if I were coaching him I would be asking him to do that in the first 30 or 40 minutes.
“With Head the other day in Perth, we all remember his swashbuckling innings – but we won’t remember the work he did in the shadows in the lead-up to that great attacking spree. He had 20 balls at least where he just absorbed pressure.”
Dog thrower to blame for faulty batting techniques?
Finally, in an era of fast-finishing Test matches, Hayden explained why he thinks batting skills may have eroded to some degree.
“Is the bare technique able to sustain periods of pressure on wickets that are harvesting a little bit of movement with the new ball? The answer is clearly no.
“My theory is that the wanger (the dog thrower) that throws the ball down at a million miles an hour is not allowing the players enough time to move their feet.
“What I see is guys making their initial balance step – it might be a little push across – but then they don’t move a second time.
“I think there is too much reliance on [these devices] as opposed to seeing the cues. Bowlers give you evidence. You can look at a fast bowler and know it is going to be short.
“Playing so much T20 cricket transfers over to the longest format as well.”
If Root’s technique is not spot on from now on, we may just see a naked Matthew Hayden. That’s quite a mental image…
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
All times UK and Ireland
- First Test (Perth – November 21-25): Australia beat England by eight wickets
- Second Test (day/night): Thursday December 4 – Monday December 8 (4am) – The Gabba, Brisbane
- Third Test: Wednesday December 17 – Sunday December 21 (11.30pm) – Adelaide Oval
- Fourth Test: Thursday December 25 – Monday December 29 (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Fifth Test: Sunday January 4 – Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground
