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In the end, even the celebration was flawless, on the field under that strange vivid blue southern sky, within the tumult of the game-state – hyper Baz energy, the English lower order scything away with reckless abandon at the other end.

Right. All that drama. At the heart, Joe Root eased the ball away to fine leg to complete his long-awaited Test hundred in Australia.

However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Picture trying to explain why this was more than warm, inspiring and cathartic, but quietly epic.

An Achievement Preserved in Its Own Light

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

There will, of course, be plenty of discussion stuff to be hashed out. Is Joe Root finally great? Is he *Australian* great?

Yet there exists something deeper about wanting Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about rivalry. Every Australian who cares for cricket already knows Root is a exceptional cricketer.

Root's Hundred as a Reliable Handhold

This ton felt important in other ways, not least as something tangible in the series for this team, a anchor in the ice.

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 began with the wings already falling off, and England’s premier batsman coming out at two wickets down for five runs. Root was dropped early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Middle

In the afternoon session, England were in a reasonable position. Two examples of elite Yorkshire-dom at the crease.

On one side, Root was playing his natural game, easy, graceful, alert. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom.

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

A Damaging Decision

Do you run towards this danger? Apparently so. No settling in, no feet. Just a reckless waft first up.

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

It was, if nothing else, novel in its complete misjudgment. We have seen England bat in Australia without fluidity. Now Brook presented the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

The Veteran's Steady Rebuke

And so one half of this England team continued to collapse, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for everyone else’s too.

He delivered his own quiet rebuke, a victory for doing your homework, working at your flaws.

England are still in this series because he did the thing, offered a lesson in what talent ultimately means.

Can they dismiss Australia? Will they adapt? Uncertain. But Joe Root made a hundred.