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Finally, even the celebration was ideal, on the field under that strange vivid blue southern sky, in the frenzy of the game-state – hyper Baz energy, the English lower order swinging freely in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

Right. All that drama. In the middle, Joe Root steered the ball away to fine leg to secure his maiden Test hundred in Australia.

However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Picture trying to explain the reason this was not just heartwarming, inspiring and cleansing, but quietly epic.

An Achievement Frozen in Its Own Light

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

There'll, of course, be plenty of discussion material to be hashed out. Has Joe Root finally achieved greatness? Is he considered great by Australian standards?

Yet there exists something more about wishing for Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding one-upmanship. Any Australian who understands cricket recognizes Root is a great cricketer.

The Captain's Hundred as a Solid Anchor

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

Can England secure victory at the Gabba? Uncertain. But Joe Root got a hundred. Did Harry Brook play... the worst shot yet? Yes. He did.

This was not merely a hundred in Australia, but a superb one in truly tough conditions, an innings that could have saved his team in this series.

It had to start with the wings already falling off, and England’s key batter coming out at two wickets down for five runs. Root was dropped early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Middle

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

At one end, Root was playing his natural game, easy, lithe, alert. 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 key spell of the day.

A Costly Stroke

Do you run towards this danger? Yep. No sighters, no feet. Just a reckless waft first up.

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

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

The Veteran's Steady Answer

Therefore one half of this England team continued to collapse, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for the team's cause.

Root provided his own quiet rebuke, a success for diligence, correcting your flaws.

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

Will they take twenty wickets? Are they going to learn? It remains to be seen. But Joe Root did score a hundred.