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In the end, even the celebration was ideal, under lights under that unique intense blue southern sky, within the tumult of the game-state – hyper Baz energy, the English lower order scything away in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

Indeed. All of that. At the heart, the former captain steered the ball away to 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 cathartic, but profoundly significant.

A Milestone Caught in Its Own Light

A player who already possessed thirty-nine centuries in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now compiled his fortieth. However, follow the journey, the skill, the twists and turns.

There'll, of course, be plenty of banter-war stuff to be resolved. Has Joe Root finally achieved greatness? Is he considered great by Australian standards?

Yet there exists something more about hoping for Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding point-scoring. Any Australian who cares for cricket recognizes Root is a exceptional cricketer.

The Captain's Century as a Reliable Anchor

Root’s hundred felt important in other ways, especially as something solid in the series for this team, a anchor in the difficulty.

Can England secure victory at the Gabba? Uncertain. 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 outstanding one in genuinely tough conditions, an innings that may 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 Contrast in the Crease

In the afternoon session, England were in a reasonable position. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire-dom at the crease.

At one end, Root was exuding calm, relaxed, graceful, alert. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

Meanwhile, a darkness was coming, shadows creeping across the ground, and the swing maestro preparing for the key spell of the day.

A Costly Decision

Should one attack this threat? Yep. No settling in, no feet. Just a flash of the bat first up.

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

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

The Veteran's Silent Rebuke

And so one half of this England team continued to collapse, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for the entire innings.

He offered his own masterful response, a victory for doing your homework, correcting your flaws.

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

Are they going to bowl Australia out? Can they evolve? Not sure. But Joe Root made a hundred.