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Finally, even the celebration was ideal, under lights under that strange intense blue southern sky, within the tumult of the match situation – frantic Baz energy, the English lower order cutting loose death cult-style at the other end.

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

Yet, the true meaning resonates with those who have followed the journey. Consider trying to explain the reason this was more than warm, inspiring and cleansing, but subtly monumental.

An Achievement Frozen in Time

A player who already possessed thirty-nine hundreds in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now scored his 40th. However, trace the journey, the artistry, the jags in the road.

There'll, of course, be much banter-war material to be resolved. Has Joe Root finally achieved greatness? Is he considered great by Australian standards?

But there is something further 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.

The Captain's Hundred as a Solid Anchor

The century felt meaningful in other ways, particularly as something solid 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.

This was not merely a hundred in Australia, but a brilliant one in authentically tough conditions, an innings that could have saved his team in this series.

It had to start with the early wickets tumbling, and England’s premier batsman coming out at 5/2. A chance was put down early in the slips.

The Juxtaposition in the Crease

In the afternoon session, England were in a reasonable position. Two versions of elite Yorkshire-dom at the crease.

At one end, Root was playing his natural game, relaxed, lithe, alert. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

All the while, a dusk was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and Mitchell Starc revving up for the crucial spell of the day.

A Damaging Choice

Should one attack this threat? Apparently so. No sighters, no feet. Just a flash of the bat first up.

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

It was, if nothing else, novel in its abjectness. We've witnessed England bat in Australia like the Tin Man. Now Brook gave us the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Silent Rebuke

Thus one half of this England team continued to collapse, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for the team's cause.

He delivered his own masterful response, a victory for diligence, addressing your flaws.

England are still in this series because he scaled the peak, delivered a lesson in what talent ultimately means.

Can they dismiss Australia? Will they adapt? It remains to be seen. But Joe Root made a hundred.