🔗 Share this article

In the end, the very celebration was ideal, under lights under that unique vivid blue southern sky, within the tumult of the game-state – frantic Baz energy, England’s lower order swinging freely death cult-style at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. In the middle, the veteran batsman eased the ball away past 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 not just warm, inspiring and cathartic, but subtly monumental.

A Milestone Preserved in Its Own Light

A player who already had thirty-nine centuries in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now compiled his fortieth. However, follow the narrative, the artistry, the setbacks.

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

But there is something more about wanting Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about one-upmanship. Every Australian who understands cricket already knows Root is a great cricketer.

The Captain's Century as a Sturdy Handhold

The century felt important in other ways, particularly as something tangible in the series for this team, a foothold 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 brilliant one in truly 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 5/2. A chance was put down early in the slips.

The Contrast in the Crease

As the day progressed, England were 175 for three. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire batting at the crease.

At one end, 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 crucial spell of the day.

A Reckless Decision

Do you run towards this danger? Yep. No settling in, no feet. Just throw the hands at it first up.

The ball to Brook was full, the edge thick. There is no world where this was a good choice.

It was, if nothing else, novel in its utter failure. We've witnessed England bat in Australia like the Tin Man. Now Brook presented the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Steady Response

Thus 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.

He delivered his own quiet rebuke, a success for doing your homework, correcting your flaws.

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

Can they dismiss Australia? Can they evolve? Uncertain. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.