🔗 Share this article

In the end, even the celebration was flawless, out there under that strange vivid blue southern sky, within the tumult of the contest – manic Baz energy, the English lower order scything away with reckless abandon at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. Amidst it all, the former captain eased the ball away to fine leg to complete his long-awaited Test hundred in Australia.

However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Imagine trying to explain the reason this was more than heartwarming, uplifting and cleansing, but subtly monumental.

A Moment Caught in Its Own Light

A man who already possessed 39 hundreds in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now compiled his 40th. However, consider the narrative, the craft, the jags in the road.

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

However, there is something further about wanting Root to be great in Australia. This isn't concerning rivalry. Any Australian who cares for cricket already knows Root is a world-class cricketer.

Root's Century as a Solid Foundation

Root’s hundred felt meaningful in other ways, not least as something concrete in the series for this team, a foothold in the difficulty.

Can England secure victory at the Gabba? Uncertain. 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 superb one in truly tough conditions, an innings that may have saved his team in this series.

It had to start with the team in deep trouble, and England’s premier batsman coming out at two wickets down for five runs. He was given a life early in the slips.

The Juxtaposition in the Middle

As the day progressed, England were in a reasonable position. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire-dom at the crease.

On one side, Root was simply being himself, relaxed, graceful, watchful. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom.

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

A Reckless Decision

Should one attack this threat? Apparently so. 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 world where this was a smart choice.

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

Root's Silent Answer

Therefore one half of this England team persisted in failing, while at the other end Root batted not just for his life, but for the entire innings.

Root provided his own subtle correction, a success for preparation, working at your flaws.

The tourists are still in this series because he did the thing, provided a lesson in what ability ultimately means.

Will they take twenty wickets? Are they going to learn? Not sure. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.