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Ultimately, the very celebration was perfect, on the field under that strange deep-blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the match situation – hyper Baz energy, England’s lower order cutting loose death cult-style at the other end.

Right. All that drama. At the heart, Joe Root steered the ball away to fine leg to complete his long-awaited Test hundred in Australia.

However, for those who understand, the significance is clear. Consider trying to explain the reason this was not just warm, inspiring and cleansing, but profoundly significant.

A Moment Preserved in Its Own Light

A man who already possessed thirty-nine hundreds in this traditional format of a sport has now scored his fortieth. Yet, trace the narrative, the artistry, the jags in the road.

There will, of course, be a lot of banter-war material to be settled. Has Joe Root finally achieved greatness? Is he *Australian* great?

Yet there exists something more about wanting Root to be great in Australia. This isn't concerning rivalry. Any Australian who knows about cricket already knows Root is a great cricketer.

The Captain's Hundred as a Reliable Handhold

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

Will England triumph at the Gabba? Uncertain. But Joe Root got a hundred. Was Harry Brook's dismissal the poorest shot? Yes. He did.

This was not merely a hundred in Australia, but a superb one in truly 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 key batter coming out at 5/2. He was given a life early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Middle

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

On one side, Root was simply being himself, easy, lithe, watchful. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

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

A Damaging Choice

Do you run towards this danger? Apparently so. No settling in, no feet. Just a reckless waft first up.

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

It was at least novel in its abjectness. We have seen England bat in Australia without fluidity. This was Brook as the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

The Veteran's Steady Answer

And so one half of this England team kept faltering, while at the other end Root batted not just for his life, but for the team's cause.

Root provided his own quiet rebuke, a victory for doing your homework, working at your flaws.

The tourists are still in this series because he did the thing, offered a lesson in what talent ultimately means.

Are they going to bowl Australia out? Can they evolve? Not sure. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.