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In the end, the very celebration was perfect, under lights under that unique intense blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the game-state – frantic Baz energy, England’s lower order swinging freely with reckless abandon at the other end.

Indeed. All of that. Amidst it all, the former captain steered the ball away to fine leg to notch his long-awaited Test hundred in Australia.

However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Imagine trying to explain why this was more than warm, uplifting and cathartic, but profoundly significant.

A Moment Frozen in Time

A man who already had thirty-nine hundreds in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now registered his fortieth. But, trace the journey, the skill, the twists and turns.

There'll, of course, be a lot of banter-war stuff to be resolved. Is Joe Root finally great? Is he *Australian* great?

Yet there exists something deeper about wanting Root to be great in Australia. This isn't concerning point-scoring. Every Australian who understands cricket is well aware Root is a exceptional cricketer.

The Captain's Hundred as a Solid Handhold

This ton felt important in other ways, especially as something concrete in the series for this team, a foothold in the glacier.

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

This was not merely a hundred in Australia, but a brilliant one in authentically tough conditions, an innings that may have saved his team in this series.

It began with the team in deep trouble, and England’s key batter coming out at two wickets down for five runs. Root was dropped early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Middle

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

On one side, Root was playing his natural game, relaxed, graceful, alert. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

All the while, a darkness was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and Mitchell Starc building up for the key spell of the day.

A Reckless Choice

Should one attack this threat? Yep. No sighters, no feet. Just a reckless waft first up.

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

It was, if nothing else, novel in its abjectness. We've witnessed England bat in Australia like the Tin Man. Now Brook presented the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Steady Response

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

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

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

Can they dismiss Australia? Are they going to learn? It remains to be seen. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.