🔗 Share this article

In the end, even the celebration was flawless, out there under that unique intense blue southern sky, within the tumult of the match situation – manic Baz energy, the English lower order swinging freely with reckless abandon at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. In the middle, the former captain steered the ball away to fine leg to secure his long-awaited Test hundred in Australia.

But, then if you know, you know. Imagine trying to explain the reason this was not just heartwarming, uplifting and cathartic, but subtly monumental.

An Achievement Caught in Time

A batsman who already possessed thirty-nine tons in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now scored his 40th. However, consider the narrative, the skill, the jags in the road.

There will, of course, be a lot of banter-war talk to be resolved. Is Joe Root finally great? Does he now rank among Australian greats?

Yet there exists something further about hoping for Root to be great in Australia. This isn't concerning rivalry. Every Australian who cares for cricket is well aware Root is a great cricketer.

Root's Hundred as a Reliable Anchor

The century felt meaningful in other ways, particularly as something concrete in the series for this team, a handhold in the difficulty.

Can England secure victory at the Gabba? Don’t know. 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 superb one in genuinely tough conditions, an innings that might just have saved his team in this series.

The innings commenced 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 Dichotomy in the Crease

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

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

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

A Reckless Stroke

Is it wise to challenge this? Yep. No settling in, no feet. Just throw the hands at it first up.

The ball to Brook was full-length, the edge healthy. There is no scenario where this was a good choice.

It was at least novel in its complete misjudgment. We have seen England bat in Australia like a rusted machine. This was Brook as the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

The Veteran's Steady Response

Therefore one half of this England team persisted in failing, while at the other end Root batted not just for his life, but for everyone else’s too.

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

England are still in this series because he did the thing, offered a lesson in what ability ultimately means.

Are they going to bowl Australia out? Will they adapt? Uncertain. But Joe Root did score a hundred.