🔗 Share this article

In the end, the moment of celebration was ideal, under lights under that unusual deep-blue southern sky, within the tumult of the game-state – manic Baz energy, England’s lower order swinging freely in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

Indeed. All of that. In the middle, the veteran batsman steered the ball away past fine leg to complete his first 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 quietly epic.

A Milestone Preserved in Its Own Light

A batsman who already possessed 39 centuries in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now scored his 40th. But, trace the journey, the skill, the jags in the road.

There'll, of course, be a lot of discussion talk to be settled. Is Joe Root finally great? Does he now rank among Australian greats?

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

Root's Century as a Sturdy Anchor

The century felt meaningful in other ways, not least as something concrete in the series for this team, a handhold in the ice.

Are England going to win at the Gabba? Don’t know. But Joe Root got a hundred. Did Harry Brook play... the worst shot yet? Yes. He did.

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

It began with the team in deep trouble, and England’s premier batsman coming out at two wickets down for five runs. Root was dropped early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Crease

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

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

Throughout, a darkness was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and Mitchell Starc preparing for the crucial spell of the day.

A Costly Stroke

Do you run towards this danger? 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 scenario where this was a smart choice.

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

Root's Quiet Response

Therefore one half of this England team persisted in failing, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for the team's cause.

Root provided his own masterful response, a victory for preparation, addressing your flaws.

The tourists are still in this series because he scaled the peak, offered a lesson in what ability truly means.

Will they take twenty wickets? Can they evolve? Not sure. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.