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Ultimately, the very celebration was ideal, under lights under that strange deep-blue southern sky, in the frenzy of the match situation – frantic Baz energy, the English lower order cutting loose with reckless abandon at the other end.

Right. All that drama. In the middle, the veteran batsman guided the ball away to fine leg to notch his maiden Test hundred in Australia.

But, then if you know, you know. Picture trying to explain why this was not just heartwarming, uplifting and cathartic, but profoundly significant.

An Achievement Preserved in Time

A man who already had 39 tons in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now registered his 40th. Yet, consider the story, the artistry, the twists and turns.

There'll, of course, be much discussion material to be resolved. Is Joe Root finally great? Is he *Australian* great?

Yet there exists something deeper about wishing for Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about rivalry. Any Australian who understands cricket is well aware Root is a world-class cricketer.

Root's Century as a Reliable Foundation

Root’s hundred felt meaningful in other ways, not least as something tangible in the series for this team, a foothold in the glacier.

Can England secure victory at the Gabba? Don’t know. But Joe Root got a hundred. Did Harry Brook play... the worst shot yet? Yes. He did.

This was not merely a hundred in Australia, but a superb one in truly tough conditions, an innings that might just have saved his team in this series.

It began with the team in deep trouble, and England’s key batter coming out at 5/2. Root was dropped early in the slips.

The Juxtaposition in the Crease

As the day progressed, England were 3/175. Two examples of elite Yorkshire grit at the crease.

At one end, Root was simply being himself, easy, lithe, watchful. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom.

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

A Damaging Stroke

Should one attack this threat? Yes. No sighters, no feet. Just a flash of the bat first up.

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

It was at least novel in its complete misjudgment. We have seen England bat in Australia like a rusted machine. This was Brook as the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Quiet Response

Thus one half of this England team kept faltering, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for everyone else’s too.

Root provided his own masterful response, a victory for preparation, correcting your flaws.

The tourists are still in this series because he did the thing, offered a lesson in what talent truly means.

Are they going to bowl Australia out? Are they going to learn? It remains to be seen. But Joe Root made a hundred.