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Ultimately, even the celebration was perfect, on the field under that unusual deep-blue southern sky, within the tumult of the match situation – hyper Baz energy, the English lower order swinging freely death cult-style at the other end.

Right. All that drama. In the middle, the former captain steered the ball away through fine leg to notch his maiden Test hundred in Australia.

Yet, the true meaning resonates with those who have followed the journey. Picture trying to explain the reason this was not just heartwarming, uplifting and cleansing, but subtly monumental.

An Achievement Caught in Time

A man who already had 39 hundreds in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now compiled his fortieth. Yet, follow the journey, the skill, the twists and turns.

There'll, of course, be much debate talk to be resolved. Does this cement Joe Root's greatness? Does he now rank among Australian greats?

Yet there exists something more about wanting Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about point-scoring. Every Australian who knows about cricket is well aware Root is a great cricketer.

Root's Hundred as a Sturdy Anchor

Root’s hundred felt significant in other ways, especially as something concrete in the series for this team, a handhold in the difficulty.

Will England triumph 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 truly tough conditions, an innings that may have saved his team in this series.

It began with the team in deep trouble, 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

As the day progressed, England were in a reasonable position. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire grit 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, the shadows creeping across the ground, and the pink ball genius building up for the key spell of the day.

A Damaging Choice

Should one attack this threat? Yes. No sighters, no feet. Just a flash of the bat first up.

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

It was, if nothing else, novel in its complete misjudgment. We have seen England bat in Australia like the Tin Man. This was Brook as the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Steady Answer

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

Root provided his own subtle correction, a success for preparation, working at your flaws.

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

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