🔗 Share this article

Ultimately, the moment of celebration was ideal, on the field under that unique vivid blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the game-state – manic Baz energy, England’s lower order cutting loose with reckless abandon at the other end.

Indeed. All of that. Amidst it all, the former captain steered the ball away past fine leg to complete his maiden Test hundred in Australia.

But, then if you know, you know. Consider trying to explain why this was not just heartwarming, inspiring and cleansing, but subtly monumental.

A Moment Preserved in Time

A man who already possessed 39 hundreds in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now registered his 40th. Yet, trace the narrative, the skill, the setbacks.

There'll, of course, be much debate material to be hashed out. Has Joe Root finally achieved greatness? Is he considered great by Australian standards?

Yet there exists something more about wanting Root to be great in Australia. This isn't concerning point-scoring. Any Australian who knows about cricket is well aware Root is a great cricketer.

Root's Hundred as a Solid Handhold

The century felt important in other ways, especially as something tangible in the series for this team, a anchor in the ice.

Will England triumph at the Gabba? Uncertain. But Joe Root got a hundred. Was Harry Brook's dismissal the poorest shot? 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 began with the wings already falling off, 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 Contrast in the Middle

In the afternoon session, England were 175 for three. Two versions of elite Yorkshire batting at the crease.

At one end, Root was playing his natural game, easy, graceful, alert. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

Throughout, a dusk was coming, shadows creeping across the ground, and the pink ball genius preparing for the crucial spell of the day.

A Reckless Decision

Is it wise to challenge this? Yes. No sighters, no feet. Just a reckless waft first up.

The delivery to Brook was full-length, the edge thick. There is no world where this was a smart choice.

It was, if nothing else, novel in its utter failure. We have seen England bat in Australia like a rusted machine. Now Brook gave us the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Silent Rebuke

And so one half of this England team persisted in failing, while at the other end Root batted with immense resolve, but for everyone else’s too.

He offered his own masterful response, a triumph for doing your homework, correcting your flaws.

England are still in this series because he scaled the peak, provided a lesson in what skill in the end means.

Will they take twenty wickets? Are they going to learn? Uncertain. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.