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In the end, the very celebration was ideal, under lights under that unique intense blue southern sky, in the frenzy of the match situation – frantic Baz energy, England’s lower order cutting loose with reckless abandon at the other end.

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

But, then if you know, you know. Consider trying to explain the reason this was not just warm, inspiring and cathartic, but subtly monumental.

An Achievement Caught in Time

A batsman who already had 39 hundreds in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now registered his 40th. Yet, trace the story, the craft, the twists and turns.

There'll, of course, be a lot of banter-war stuff to be settled. Has Joe Root finally achieved greatness? Does he now rank among Australian greats?

Yet there exists something further about wanting Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding rivalry. Any Australian who knows about cricket recognizes Root is a great cricketer.

Root's Century as a Sturdy Foundation

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

Are England going to win at the Gabba? Uncertain. 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 brilliant one in genuinely tough conditions, an innings that could have saved his team in this series.

It began with the early wickets tumbling, and England’s greatest modern player coming out at 5/2. He was given a life early in the slips.

The Contrast in the Middle

In the afternoon session, England were 3/175. Two versions of elite Yorkshire grit at the crease.

On one side, Root was simply being himself, easy, lithe, watchful. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

Throughout, a dusk was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and Mitchell Starc building up for the pivotal spell of the day.

A Damaging Choice

Is it wise to challenge this? Yep. No settling in, no feet. Just a flash of the bat first up.

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

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

The Veteran's Steady Response

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

He offered his own quiet rebuke, a success for doing your homework, correcting your flaws.

The tourists are still in this series because he scaled the peak, delivered a lesson in what skill ultimately means.

Will they take twenty wickets? Can they evolve? It remains to be seen. But Joe Root made a hundred.