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Finally, the moment of celebration was ideal, out there under that unique vivid blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the game-state – frantic Baz energy, England’s lower order swinging freely in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

Indeed. All of that. In the middle, Joe Root eased the ball away past fine leg to complete his long-awaited Test hundred in Australia.

Yet, the true meaning resonates with those who have followed the journey. Imagine trying to explain why this was not just heartwarming, inspiring and cleansing, but subtly monumental.

An Achievement Frozen in Time

A player who already had thirty-nine hundreds in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now compiled his 40th. But, follow the narrative, the artistry, the twists and turns.

There'll, of course, be a lot of debate material to be resolved. Has Joe Root finally achieved greatness? Is he *Australian* great?

But there is something more about wanting Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about point-scoring. Any Australian who understands cricket is well aware Root is a world-class cricketer.

Root's Century as a Reliable Anchor

Root’s hundred felt significant in other ways, not least as something solid in the series for this team, a foothold in the difficulty.

Will England triumph at the Gabba? It's unclear. 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 might just have saved his team in this series.

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

The Dichotomy in the Crease

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

At one end, Root was playing his natural game, relaxed, lithe, alert. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom.

All the while, a darkness was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and the pink ball genius revving up for the crucial spell of the day.

A Costly 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 thick. There is no world where this was a sensible choice.

It was at least novel in its abjectness. We have seen England bat in Australia like a rusted machine. Now Brook gave us the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Steady Rebuke

And so one half of this England team persisted in failing, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for everyone else’s too.

Root provided his own masterful response, a triumph for diligence, working at your flaws.

England are still in this series because he achieved the milestone, offered a lesson in what skill truly means.

Can they dismiss Australia? Can they evolve? Not sure. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.