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In the end, the very celebration was perfect, on the field under that unique intense blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the game-state – hyper Baz energy, England’s lower order scything away with reckless abandon at the other end.

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

However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Consider trying to explain why this was not just heartwarming, inspiring and cathartic, but profoundly significant.

A Moment Preserved in Its Own Light

A batsman who already possessed 39 hundreds in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now scored his fortieth. Yet, consider the journey, the artistry, 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?

However, there is something further about hoping for Root to be great in Australia. This isn't concerning rivalry. Any Australian who cares for cricket already knows Root is a world-class cricketer.

The Captain's Hundred as a Sturdy Handhold

The century felt important in other ways, not least as something concrete in the series for this team, a handhold in the ice.

Are England going to win at the Gabba? It's unclear. But Joe Root got a hundred. Was Harry Brook's dismissal the poorest shot? Yes. He did.

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

It had to start with the early wickets tumbling, and England’s premier batsman coming out at two wickets down for five runs. He was given a life early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Middle

By mid-afternoon, England were 3/175. Two examples of elite Yorkshire grit at the crease.

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

All the while, a gloom was coming, shadows creeping across the ground, and the swing maestro building up for the crucial spell of the day.

A Reckless Stroke

Should one attack this threat? 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 context where this was a good choice.

It was at least novel in its utter failure. We've witnessed England bat in Australia like the Tin Man. Now Brook presented the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Steady Answer

Thus one half of this England team kept faltering, while at the other end Root batted not just for his life, but for the team's cause.

He offered his own subtle correction, a success for diligence, correcting your flaws.

England are still in this series because he did the thing, delivered a lesson in what ability truly means.

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