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Finally, the very celebration was ideal, out there under that strange deep-blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the contest – manic Baz energy, England’s lower order cutting loose with reckless abandon at the other end.

Indeed. All of that. In the middle, the veteran batsman guided the ball away through fine leg to notch his long-awaited Test hundred in Australia.

Yet, the true meaning resonates with those who have followed the journey. Imagine trying to explain the reason this was not just warm, uplifting and cathartic, but subtly monumental.

An Achievement Caught in Its Own Light

A batsman who already possessed 39 centuries in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now scored his fortieth. However, consider the journey, the craft, the jags in the road.

There will, of course, be plenty of debate material to be settled. Is Joe Root finally great? Is he considered great by Australian standards?

But there is something more about wanting Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about point-scoring. Every Australian who understands cricket already knows Root is a great cricketer.

The Captain's Century as a Solid Anchor

The century felt meaningful in other ways, not least as something concrete in the series for this team, a handhold in the glacier.

Are England going to win at the Gabba? Uncertain. 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 outstanding one in authentically tough conditions, an innings that might just have saved his team in this series.

It had to start with the early wickets tumbling, and England’s premier batsman coming out at two wickets down for five runs. A chance was put down early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Crease

As the day progressed, England were 3/175. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire grit at the crease.

On one side, Root was playing his natural game, easy, lithe, watchful. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom.

All the while, a gloom was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and Mitchell Starc preparing for the pivotal spell of the day.

A Reckless Choice

Is it wise to challenge this? Yes. No settling in, no feet. Just throw the hands at it first up.

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

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

The Veteran's Steady Answer

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

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

England are still in this series because he scaled the peak, offered a lesson in what skill ultimately means.

Are they going to bowl Australia out? Will they adapt? Uncertain. But Joe Root did score a hundred.