🔗 Share this article

Ultimately, the moment of celebration was perfect, on the field under that strange intense blue southern sky, in the frenzy of the game-state – manic Baz energy, the English lower order scything away with reckless abandon at the other end.

Right. All that drama. In the middle, the veteran batsman eased the ball away through fine leg to secure his long-awaited Test hundred in Australia.

However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Imagine trying to explain why this was more than heartwarming, uplifting and cathartic, but subtly monumental.

A Moment Frozen in Time

A batsman who already had 39 centuries in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now registered his 40th. Yet, consider the journey, the artistry, the twists and turns.

There will, of course, be a lot of discussion material to be settled. Has Joe Root finally achieved greatness? Does he now rank among Australian greats?

Yet there exists something further about wishing for Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about point-scoring. Every Australian who understands cricket already knows Root is a great cricketer.

The Captain's Hundred as a Sturdy Handhold

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

Are England going to win at the Gabba? Uncertain. But Joe Root got a hundred. Did Harry Brook play... the worst shot yet? Yes. He did.

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

It had to start with the early wickets tumbling, and England’s key batter coming out at a dire 5 for 2. He was given a life early in the slips.

The Juxtaposition in the Crease

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

At one end, Root was simply being himself, relaxed, graceful, alert. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

All the while, a gloom was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and the swing maestro revving up for the crucial spell of the day.

A Damaging Choice

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

The delivery to Brook was full, the edge healthy. 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 the Tin Man. Now Brook gave us the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Steady Answer

And so one half of this England team continued to collapse, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for the entire innings.

Root provided his own subtle correction, a victory for doing your homework, correcting your flaws.

England are still in this series because he did the thing, delivered a lesson in what talent in the end means.

Are they going to bowl Australia out? Can they evolve? Uncertain. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.