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Ultimately, even the celebration was perfect, out there under that unique vivid blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the match situation – hyper Baz energy, England’s lower order cutting loose in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. Amidst it all, the veteran batsman eased the ball away to fine leg to notch his maiden Test hundred in Australia.

However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Picture trying to explain the reason this was not just warm, inspiring and cathartic, but profoundly significant.

An Achievement Frozen in Time

A player who already had thirty-nine centuries in this traditional format of a sport has now scored his 40th. However, trace the journey, the craft, the jags in the road.

There will, of course, be plenty of debate stuff to be settled. Has Joe Root finally achieved greatness? Is he considered great by Australian standards?

Yet there exists something further about hoping for Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding one-upmanship. Any Australian who cares for cricket recognizes Root is a great cricketer.

The Captain's Hundred as a Reliable Anchor

Root’s hundred felt meaningful in other ways, not least as something solid in the series for this team, a anchor in the glacier.

Can England secure victory at the Gabba? Uncertain. But Joe Root got a hundred. Did Harry Brook produce a disastrous stroke? Yes. He did.

And not just a hundred in Australia, but a brilliant one in authentically tough conditions, an innings that might just have saved his team in this series.

The innings commenced with the team in deep trouble, and England’s greatest modern player coming out at 5/2. He was given a life early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Middle

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

At one end, Root was exuding calm, easy, lithe, alert. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

Meanwhile, a dusk was coming, shadows creeping across the ground, and the pink ball genius revving up for the pivotal spell of the day.

A Costly Choice

Should one attack this threat? Yes. No sighters, no feet. Just a reckless waft first up.

The ball to Brook was full, the edge clear. There is no scenario 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. This was Brook as the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Quiet Response

Thus one half of this England team continued to collapse, while at the other end Root batted with immense resolve, but for everyone else’s too.

He delivered his own subtle correction, a triumph for doing your homework, addressing your flaws.

England are still in this series because he achieved the milestone, delivered a lesson in what ability in the end means.

Will they take twenty wickets? Will they adapt? It remains to be seen. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.