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Ultimately, even the celebration was perfect, under lights under that strange intense blue southern sky, in the frenzy of the game-state – manic Baz energy, the English lower order cutting loose in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

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

But, then if you know, you know. Picture trying to explain the reason this was more than heartwarming, inspiring and cleansing, but quietly epic.

A Milestone Caught in Time

A man who already had thirty-nine tons in this traditional format of a sport has now registered his fortieth. Yet, trace the story, the craft, the twists and turns.

There'll, of course, be a lot of debate material to be resolved. Does this cement Joe Root's greatness? Does he now rank among Australian greats?

But there is something further about wanting Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding point-scoring. Every Australian who understands cricket is well aware Root is a exceptional cricketer.

The Captain's Century as a Solid Handhold

The century felt meaningful in other ways, especially as something solid in the series for this team, a handhold in the glacier.

Can England secure victory at the Gabba? Uncertain. But Joe Root got a hundred. Did Harry Brook produce a disastrous stroke? Yes. He did.

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

The innings commenced with the wings already falling off, and England’s key batter coming out at a dire 5 for 2. Root was dropped early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Crease

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

On one side, Root was playing his natural game, easy, graceful, alert. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom.

Meanwhile, a dusk was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and the swing maestro revving up for the pivotal spell of the day.

A Damaging Choice

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

The ball to Brook was full-length, the edge thick. There is no context where this was a sensible 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.

Root's Silent Answer

And so one half of this England team persisted in failing, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for the entire innings.

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

The tourists are still in this series because he achieved the milestone, offered a lesson in what ability ultimately means.

Are they going to bowl Australia out? Are they going to learn? It remains to be seen. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.