🔗 Share this article

In the end, even the celebration was ideal, out there under that strange intense blue southern sky, in the frenzy of the match situation – hyper Baz energy, the English lower order cutting loose with reckless abandon at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. In the middle, the veteran batsman guided the ball away past 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 why this was more than heartwarming, uplifting and cathartic, but quietly epic.

An Achievement Frozen in Time

A player who already had 39 centuries in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now scored his fortieth. But, follow the narrative, the skill, the jags in the road.

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

However, there is something more about hoping for Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding one-upmanship. Any Australian who understands cricket recognizes Root is a world-class cricketer.

Root's Century as a Reliable Handhold

The century felt meaningful in other ways, especially as something tangible in the series for this team, a anchor in the difficulty.

Will England triumph at the Gabba? It's unclear. 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.

The innings commenced with the wings already falling off, and England’s premier batsman coming out at a dire 5 for 2. Root was dropped early in the slips.

The Contrast in the Crease

As the day progressed, England were 175 for three. Two examples of elite Yorkshire grit at the crease.

On one side, Root was exuding calm, relaxed, lithe, watchful. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom.

Meanwhile, a darkness was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and Mitchell Starc preparing for the crucial spell of the day.

A Reckless Choice

Do you run towards this danger? Yes. No sighters, no feet. Just a reckless waft first up.

The ball to Brook was full, the edge clear. 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 without fluidity. Now Brook presented the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Silent Answer

Therefore one half of this England team kept faltering, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for everyone else’s too.

He delivered his own subtle correction, a success for diligence, working at 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? Are they going to learn? It remains to be seen. But Joe Root made a hundred.