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Ultimately, even the celebration was perfect, out there under that unique vivid blue southern sky, in the frenzy of the contest – hyper Baz energy, the English lower order scything away in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. Amidst it all, Joe Root eased the ball away past fine leg to notch his maiden Test hundred in Australia.

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

A Milestone Frozen in Time

A player who already had thirty-nine centuries in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now registered his 40th. But, trace the story, the artistry, the jags in the road.

There will, of course, be plenty of discussion stuff to be resolved. Is Joe Root finally great? Does he now rank among Australian greats?

Yet there exists something more about hoping for Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about one-upmanship. Every Australian who cares for cricket is well aware Root is a great cricketer.

Root's Hundred as a Sturdy Foundation

The century felt significant in other ways, especially as something solid in the series for this team, a foothold in the ice.

Will England triumph at the Gabba? Don’t know. 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 brilliant one in genuinely tough conditions, an innings that may have saved his team in this series.

The innings commenced with the team in deep trouble, and England’s greatest modern player coming out at two wickets down for five runs. A chance was put down early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Crease

By mid-afternoon, England were 3/175. Two examples of elite Yorkshire-dom at the crease.

At one end, Root was simply being himself, relaxed, lithe, alert. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom.

All the while, a dusk was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and the pink ball genius building up for the key spell of the day.

A Reckless Decision

Do you run towards this danger? Apparently so. No settling in, no feet. Just a flash of the bat first up.

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

It was at least novel in its complete misjudgment. We've witnessed England bat in Australia like the Tin Man. This was Brook as the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Quiet Rebuke

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

He offered his own subtle correction, a triumph for diligence, working at your flaws.

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

Will they take twenty wickets? Will they adapt? Uncertain. But Joe Root did score a hundred.