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Ultimately, even the celebration was perfect, under lights under that unusual vivid blue southern sky, within the tumult of the game-state – hyper Baz energy, England’s lower order scything away in a do-or-die manner at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. At the heart, Joe Root eased the ball away to fine leg to notch 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 heartwarming, uplifting and cathartic, but subtly monumental.

A Moment Preserved in Its Own Light

A man who already had thirty-nine centuries in this traditional format of a sport has now scored his 40th. Yet, follow the narrative, the craft, the twists and turns.

There'll, of course, be plenty of discussion material to be hashed out. Is Joe Root finally great? Is he considered great by Australian standards?

But there is something further about wanting Root to be great in Australia. This isn't concerning one-upmanship. Every Australian who understands cricket recognizes Root is a great cricketer.

Root's Hundred as a Sturdy Anchor

The century felt significant in other ways, not least as something concrete in the series for this team, a foothold in the glacier.

Will England triumph at the Gabba? Don’t know. 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 outstanding one in authentically tough conditions, an innings that might just have saved his team in this series.

It began with the wings already falling off, and England’s greatest modern player 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 embodiments of elite Yorkshire grit at the crease.

At one end, Root was simply being himself, relaxed, lithe, alert. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who urgently requires the bathroom.

Throughout, a gloom was coming, shadows creeping across the ground, and the pink ball genius preparing for the crucial spell of the day.

A Reckless Choice

Should one attack this threat? Yep. No settling in, no feet. Just a flash of the bat first up.

The ball to Brook was full, the edge healthy. There is no context where this was a sensible choice.

It was, if nothing else, novel in its utter failure. We have seen England bat in Australia without fluidity. Now Brook gave us the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Quiet Response

Therefore one half of this England team continued to collapse, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for the entire innings.

Root provided his own masterful response, a success for doing your homework, working at your flaws.

England are still in this series because he achieved the milestone, delivered a lesson in what ability in the end means.

Can they dismiss Australia? Can they evolve? Uncertain. But Joe Root did score a hundred.