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Ultimately, even the celebration was perfect, on the field under that strange deep-blue southern sky, within the tumult of the contest – hyper Baz energy, England’s lower order scything away in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

Right. All that drama. At the heart, the former captain guided the ball away to fine leg to notch his first Test hundred in Australia.

But, then if you know, you know. Consider trying to explain the reason this was more than heartwarming, uplifting and cathartic, but subtly monumental.

A Moment Caught in Its Own Light

A batsman who already possessed thirty-nine centuries in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now registered his fortieth. However, trace the journey, the skill, the jags in the road.

There will, of course, be a lot of discussion talk to be settled. Has Joe Root finally achieved greatness? Is he *Australian* great?

Yet there exists something deeper about wishing for Root to be great in Australia. This isn't concerning rivalry. Any Australian who knows about cricket already knows Root is a exceptional cricketer.

Root's Hundred as a Sturdy Handhold

Root’s hundred felt important in other ways, particularly as something tangible in the series for this team, a handhold in the glacier.

Will England triumph at the Gabba? Uncertain. But Joe Root got a hundred. Did Harry Brook produce a disastrous stroke? Yes. He did.

And not just a hundred in Australia, but a superb one in truly tough conditions, an innings that may have saved his team in this series.

It had to start with the team in deep trouble, and England’s premier batsman coming out at a dire 5 for 2. He was given a life early in the slips.

The Contrast in the Middle

By mid-afternoon, England were 3/175. Two versions of elite Yorkshire-dom at the crease.

On one side, Root was exuding calm, easy, graceful, watchful. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

All the while, a dusk was coming, shadows creeping across the ground, and the swing maestro preparing for the crucial spell of the day.

A Costly Choice

Is it wise to challenge this? Yes. No settling in, no feet. Just a reckless waft first up.

The delivery to Brook was full-length, the edge healthy. There is no world where this was a sensible choice.

It was, if nothing else, novel in its abjectness. We've witnessed England bat in Australia without fluidity. Now Brook gave us the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

The Veteran's Silent Response

And so one half of this England team continued to collapse, while at the other end Root batted not just for his life, but for everyone else’s too.

He offered his own subtle correction, a victory for diligence, working at your flaws.

The tourists are still in this series because he scaled the peak, offered a lesson in what skill in the end means.

Can they dismiss Australia? Will they adapt? It remains to be seen. But Joe Root made a hundred.