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Finally, the very celebration was flawless, out there under that unusual intense blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the game-state – hyper Baz energy, England’s lower order swinging freely death cult-style at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. At the heart, the veteran batsman eased the ball away to fine leg to secure his long-awaited Test hundred in Australia.

However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Picture trying to explain the reason this was not just warm, uplifting and cathartic, but quietly epic.

An Achievement Frozen in Time

A batsman who already possessed 39 centuries in this traditional format of a sport has now scored his fortieth. Yet, follow the journey, the skill, the setbacks.

There will, of course, be plenty of banter-war material to be resolved. Has Joe Root finally achieved greatness? Is he *Australian* great?

Yet there exists something more about wanting Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding one-upmanship. Every Australian who understands cricket is well aware Root is a great cricketer.

The Captain's Century as a Sturdy Foundation

The century felt significant in other ways, particularly as something concrete in the series for this team, a handhold in the difficulty.

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

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

It began with the wings already falling off, and England’s key batter coming out at two wickets down for five runs. He was given a life early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Crease

As the day progressed, England were 3/175. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire-dom at the crease.

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

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

A Costly Stroke

Is it wise to challenge this? Apparently so. No settling in, no feet. Just throw the hands at it first up.

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

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

Root's Quiet Rebuke

Therefore one half of this England team persisted in failing, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for the entire innings.

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

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

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