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Ultimately, even the celebration was ideal, out there under that unique vivid blue southern sky, in the frenzy of the match situation – manic Baz energy, the English lower order swinging freely with reckless abandon at the other end.

Indeed. All of that. At the heart, the veteran batsman steered the ball away past fine leg to notch his first Test hundred in Australia.

However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Consider trying to explain why this was more than heartwarming, inspiring and cleansing, but subtly monumental.

An Achievement Preserved in Its Own Light

A batsman who already had 39 hundreds in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now registered his fortieth. However, follow the narrative, the craft, the jags in the road.

There'll, of course, be a lot of banter-war talk to be resolved. Does this cement Joe Root's greatness? Is he *Australian* great?

However, there is something deeper about wanting Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about rivalry. Any Australian who cares for cricket recognizes Root is a world-class cricketer.

The Captain's Century as a Sturdy Handhold

Root’s hundred felt important in other ways, particularly as something solid in the series for this team, a foothold in the ice.

Can England secure victory at the Gabba? Don’t know. 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 outstanding one in truly tough conditions, an innings that could have saved his team in this series.

It had to start with the team in deep trouble, and England’s greatest modern player coming out at 5/2. Root was dropped early in the slips.

The Juxtaposition in the Middle

By mid-afternoon, England were 175 for three. Two versions of elite Yorkshire grit at the crease.

On one side, Root was exuding calm, relaxed, lithe, watchful. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

Meanwhile, a dusk was coming, shadows creeping across the ground, and the pink ball genius preparing for the crucial spell of the day.

A Damaging Choice

Do you run towards this danger? Yep. No sighters, no feet. Just a flash of the bat first up.

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

It was, if nothing else, novel in its abjectness. We've witnessed England bat in Australia like a rusted machine. This was Brook as the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Silent Rebuke

Thus one half of this England team persisted in failing, while at the other end Root batted with immense resolve, but for everyone else’s too.

He offered his own quiet rebuke, a triumph for preparation, addressing your flaws.

England are still in this series because he scaled the peak, provided a lesson in what skill truly means.

Are they going to bowl Australia out? Can they evolve? Uncertain. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.