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Ultimately, the very celebration was perfect, out there under that unique intense blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the contest – frantic Baz energy, England’s lower order cutting loose in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

Indeed. All of that. Amidst it all, the veteran batsman eased the ball away to fine leg to complete his long-awaited Test hundred in Australia.

Yet, the true meaning resonates with those who have followed the journey. Consider 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 thirty-nine centuries in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now registered his 40th. However, follow the story, the craft, the setbacks.

There will, of course, be a lot of debate material to be settled. Is Joe Root finally great? Is he *Australian* great?

Yet there exists something deeper about wanting Root to be great in Australia. It’s not about one-upmanship. Every Australian who knows about cricket already knows Root is a world-class cricketer.

Root's Hundred as a Solid Anchor

This ton felt important in other ways, not least as something solid in the series for this team, a foothold in the glacier.

Can England secure victory at the Gabba? It's unclear. 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 might just have saved his team in this series.

It had to start with the wings already falling off, and England’s greatest modern player coming out at two wickets down for five runs. He was given a life early in the slips.

The Juxtaposition in the Crease

By mid-afternoon, England were 3/175. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire-dom at the crease.

At one end, Root was exuding calm, easy, lithe, watchful. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

Meanwhile, a gloom was coming, shadows creeping across the ground, and Mitchell Starc building up for the crucial spell of the day.

A Damaging Stroke

Should one attack this threat? Yes. No settling in, no feet. Just a reckless waft first up.

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

The Veteran's Quiet Rebuke

And so one half of this England team continued to collapse, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for everyone else’s too.

He offered his own subtle correction, a victory for preparation, correcting your flaws.

England are still in this series because he did the thing, provided a lesson in what skill truly means.

Can they dismiss Australia? Can they evolve? Not sure. But Joe Root made a hundred.