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Finally, even the celebration was flawless, under lights under that strange deep-blue southern sky, in the frenzy of the contest – frantic Baz energy, England’s lower order cutting loose death cult-style at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. At the heart, the veteran batsman guided the ball away past fine leg to notch his first Test hundred in Australia.

Yet, the true meaning resonates with those who have followed the journey. Consider trying to explain the reason this was more than heartwarming, inspiring and cleansing, but quietly epic.

A Milestone Caught in Time

A man who already possessed 39 tons in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now scored his 40th. Yet, consider the journey, the craft, the jags in the road.

There will, of course, be much discussion material to be settled. Is Joe Root finally great? Is he *Australian* great?

But there is something further about wishing for Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding rivalry. Any Australian who understands cricket recognizes Root is a world-class cricketer.

The Captain's Hundred as a Sturdy Anchor

The century felt important in other ways, not least as something solid in the series for this team, a handhold in the difficulty.

Are England going to win at the Gabba? It's unclear. 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 superb one in authentically tough conditions, an innings that might just have saved his team in this series.

It had to start with the early wickets tumbling, and England’s greatest modern player coming out at a dire 5 for 2. A chance was put down early in the slips.

The Contrast in the Crease

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

On one side, Root was simply being himself, relaxed, lithe, alert. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

All the while, a dusk was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and the swing maestro preparing for the pivotal spell of the day.

A Damaging Decision

Is it wise to challenge this? Apparently so. No settling in, no feet. Just a flash of the bat first up.

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

It was, if nothing else, novel in its utter failure. We've witnessed 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 kept faltering, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for everyone else’s too.

Root provided his own masterful response, a triumph for doing your homework, correcting your flaws.

The tourists are still in this series because he did the thing, delivered a lesson in what skill in the end means.

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