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In the end, the moment of celebration was perfect, out there under that strange deep-blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the contest – frantic Baz energy, the English lower order scything away death cult-style at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. At the heart, Joe Root steered the ball away to fine leg to complete his first Test hundred in Australia.

However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Consider trying to explain why this was not just warm, uplifting and cleansing, but profoundly significant.

A Milestone Caught in Its Own Light

A man who already possessed 39 hundreds in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now scored his 40th. But, consider the journey, the artistry, the jags in the road.

There will, of course, be plenty of debate stuff to be settled. Does this cement Joe Root's greatness? Is he *Australian* great?

Yet there exists something deeper about wishing for Root to be great in Australia. This isn't concerning point-scoring. Every Australian who cares for cricket is well aware Root is a great cricketer.

Root's Century as a Solid Handhold

Root’s hundred felt significant in other ways, especially as something tangible in the series for this team, a anchor in the difficulty.

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.

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

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

The Contrast in the Middle

In the afternoon session, England were 3/175. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire-dom at the crease.

At one end, Root was simply being himself, easy, graceful, watchful. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom.

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

A Damaging Decision

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

The ball to Brook was full, the edge clear. There is no scenario 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. Now Brook presented the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Steady Response

And so one half of this England team continued to collapse, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for the entire innings.

He offered his own subtle correction, a triumph for doing your homework, correcting your flaws.

The tourists are still in this series because he scaled the peak, provided a lesson in what talent ultimately means.

Can they dismiss Australia? Will they adapt? Not sure. But Joe Root did score a hundred.