In the end, the very celebration was ideal, on the field under that strange vivid blue southern sky, within the tumult of the match situation – hyper 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 guided the ball away through fine leg to secure his first Test hundred in Australia.
However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Picture trying to explain why this was not just warm, uplifting and cathartic, but subtly monumental.
A Milestone Frozen in Time
A man who already possessed 39 tons in this traditional format of a sport has now compiled his fortieth. But, consider the narrative, the craft, the jags in the road.
There'll, of course, be a lot of discussion material to be hashed out. Is Joe Root finally great? Is he *Australian* great?
However, there is something further about wanting Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about rivalry. Any Australian who cares for cricket already knows Root is a exceptional cricketer.
The Captain's Hundred as a Reliable Handhold
This ton felt significant in other ways, particularly as something concrete in the series for this team, a anchor in the difficulty.
Will England triumph at the Gabba? Don’t know. 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.
It began with the wings already falling off, and England’s premier batsman coming out at two wickets down for five runs. A chance was put down early in the slips.
The Dichotomy 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 playing his natural game, relaxed, lithe, watchful. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom.
Throughout, a dusk was coming, shadows creeping across the ground, and Mitchell Starc preparing for the key spell of the day.
A Costly Decision
Should one attack this threat? Apparently so. No sighters, no feet. Just a flash of the bat first up.
The delivery to Brook was full, the edge thick. There is no scenario where this was a smart choice.
It was, if nothing else, novel in its utter failure. We have seen England bat in Australia without fluidity. Now Brook gave us the scarecrow, batting without a brain.
Root's Steady Answer
And so one half of this England team persisted in failing, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for everyone else’s too.
He delivered his own masterful response, a victory for preparation, addressing your flaws.
England 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? Will they adapt? Not sure. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.
