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Ultimately, even the celebration was flawless, under lights under that strange vivid blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the game-state – frantic Baz energy, England’s lower order scything away in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. Amidst it all, the former captain guided the ball away through fine leg to complete his first Test hundred in Australia.

However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Picture trying to explain why this was more than warm, inspiring and cleansing, but quietly epic.

A Moment Frozen in Time

A man who already had thirty-nine centuries in this traditional format of a sport has now registered his 40th. However, consider the journey, the craft, the twists and turns.

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

But there is something deeper about hoping for Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about rivalry. Any Australian who understands cricket recognizes Root is a exceptional cricketer.

Root's Century as a Sturdy Anchor

This ton felt meaningful in other ways, particularly as something solid in the series for this team, a handhold in the glacier.

Are England going to win at the Gabba? Don’t know. But Joe Root got a hundred. Did Harry Brook produce a disastrous stroke? Yes. He did.

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

The innings commenced with the early wickets tumbling, and England’s premier batsman coming out at 5/2. He was given a life early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Middle

By mid-afternoon, England were 175 for three. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire batting 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 gloom was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and the swing maestro revving up for the pivotal spell of the day.

A Damaging Decision

Do you run towards this danger? Apparently so. No settling in, no feet. Just throw the hands at it first up.

The delivery to Brook was full, the edge thick. There is no scenario where this was a good choice.

It was, if nothing else, novel in its complete misjudgment. We have seen England bat in Australia like the Tin Man. This was Brook as the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Steady Response

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

Root provided his own quiet rebuke, a victory for doing your homework, addressing your flaws.

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

Will they take twenty wickets? Will they adapt? Not sure. But Joe Root did score a hundred.