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Ultimately, even the celebration was perfect, under lights under that unusual deep-blue southern sky, in the frenzy of the game-state – hyper Baz energy, the English lower order swinging freely death cult-style at the other end.

Indeed. All of that. In the middle, the former captain guided the ball away to fine leg to complete his maiden Test hundred in Australia.

But, then if you know, you know. Consider trying to explain the reason this was not just warm, uplifting and cathartic, but quietly epic.

A Milestone Preserved in Its Own Light

A batsman who already had thirty-nine tons in this traditional format of a sport has now compiled his fortieth. However, follow the narrative, the craft, the jags in the road.

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

But there is something further about hoping for Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding point-scoring. Every Australian who knows about cricket recognizes Root is a exceptional cricketer.

Root's Hundred as a Solid Anchor

This ton felt important in other ways, particularly as something solid in the series for this team, a foothold in the difficulty.

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 outstanding one in genuinely tough conditions, an innings that may have saved his team in this series.

It had to start with the early wickets tumbling, and England’s key batter coming out at 5/2. A chance was put down early in the slips.

The Juxtaposition in the Middle

In the afternoon session, England were 175 for three. Two versions of elite Yorkshire-dom at the crease.

On one side, Root was playing his natural game, easy, lithe, alert. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

Throughout, a dusk was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and the pink ball genius revving up for the pivotal spell of the day.

A Costly Decision

Is it wise to challenge this? Yep. No settling in, no feet. Just a flash of the bat 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've witnessed England bat in Australia without fluidity. Now Brook presented the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

The Veteran's Steady Rebuke

Thus one half of this England team persisted in failing, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for everyone else’s too.

He delivered his own quiet rebuke, a victory for diligence, addressing your flaws.

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

Can they dismiss Australia? Will they adapt? It remains to be seen. But Joe Root made a hundred.