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Ultimately, the moment of celebration was ideal, out there under that unique deep-blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the game-state – manic Baz energy, England’s lower order scything away in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. In the middle, Joe Root guided the ball away through fine leg to notch his first Test hundred in Australia.

Yet, the true meaning resonates with those who have followed the journey. Picture trying to explain why this was not just warm, uplifting and cleansing, but profoundly significant.

An Achievement Preserved in Its Own Light

A man who already possessed thirty-nine hundreds in this traditional format of a sport has now registered his 40th. But, trace the story, the craft, the setbacks.

There'll, of course, be much debate talk to be resolved. Is Joe Root finally great? Is he *Australian* great?

However, there is something more about wishing for Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about point-scoring. Any Australian who cares for cricket recognizes Root is a great cricketer.

Root's Century as a Reliable Handhold

Root’s hundred felt meaningful 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? Don’t know. 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 genuinely tough conditions, an innings that could have saved his team in this series.

It had to start with the team in deep trouble, and England’s key batter coming out at two wickets down for five runs. A chance was put down early in the slips.

The Contrast in the Crease

By mid-afternoon, England were 175 for three. Two versions of elite Yorkshire batting at the crease.

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

Throughout, a darkness was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and Mitchell Starc preparing for the key spell of the day.

A Damaging Decision

Is it wise to challenge this? Yes. No sighters, 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 smart choice.

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

Root's Silent Response

And so one half of this England team kept faltering, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for the team's cause.

He delivered his own masterful response, a victory for doing your homework, addressing your flaws.

The tourists are still in this series because he did the thing, provided a lesson in what talent ultimately means.

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