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Ultimately, even the celebration was perfect, under lights under that strange vivid blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the contest – manic Baz energy, England’s lower order scything away in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. In the middle, Joe Root guided the ball away past fine leg to secure his maiden Test hundred in Australia.

But, then if you know, you know. Consider trying to explain why this was not just warm, inspiring and cathartic, but quietly epic.

A Milestone Caught in Time

A player who already had 39 centuries in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now compiled his 40th. But, consider the story, the artistry, the twists and turns.

There'll, of course, be plenty of banter-war stuff to be settled. Does this cement Joe Root's greatness? Is he considered great by Australian standards?

However, there is something deeper about wanting Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding point-scoring. Any Australian who understands cricket already knows Root is a great cricketer.

Root's Century as a Sturdy Anchor

This ton felt significant in other ways, especially as something solid in the series for this team, a anchor in the glacier.

Are England going to win at the Gabba? It's unclear. But Joe Root got a hundred. Did Harry Brook produce a disastrous stroke? Yes. He did.

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

It had to start with the team in deep trouble, and England’s premier batsman 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 3/175. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire batting at the crease.

At one end, Root was playing his natural game, easy, lithe, watchful. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom.

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

A Reckless Choice

Do you run towards this danger? Apparently so. No sighters, no feet. Just a flash of the bat first up.

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

It was, if nothing else, novel in its complete misjudgment. We've witnessed England bat in Australia like a rusted machine. This was Brook as the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

The Veteran's Steady Response

And so one half of this England team persisted in failing, while at the other end Root batted with immense resolve, but for everyone else’s too.

Root provided his own quiet rebuke, a success for preparation, correcting your flaws.

England are still in this series because he scaled the peak, offered a lesson in what ability in the end means.

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