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Ultimately, the moment of celebration was perfect, out there under that strange vivid blue southern sky, in the frenzy of the match situation – hyper Baz energy, England’s lower order swinging freely death cult-style at the other end.

Right. All that drama. At the heart, the former captain steered the ball away to 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 why this was not just heartwarming, inspiring and cathartic, but quietly epic.

A Milestone Caught in Its Own Light

A player who already had 39 tons in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now compiled his 40th. Yet, consider the journey, the skill, the jags in the road.

There'll, of course, be a lot of banter-war stuff to be settled. Is Joe Root finally great? Is he considered great by Australian standards?

Yet there exists something further about hoping for Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding rivalry. Every Australian who knows about cricket is well aware Root is a great cricketer.

Root's Hundred as a Sturdy Foundation

The century felt significant in other ways, not least as something solid in the series for this team, a handhold in the ice.

Are England going to win at the Gabba? It's unclear. 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 could have saved his team in this series.

The innings commenced with the early wickets tumbling, and England’s premier batsman coming out at a dire 5 for 2. He was given a life early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Crease

As the day progressed, England were 3/175. Two versions of elite Yorkshire grit at the crease.

At one end, Root was playing his natural game, relaxed, graceful, watchful. At the other, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom.

Meanwhile, a gloom was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and the swing maestro building up for the pivotal spell of the day.

A Damaging Choice

Should one attack this threat? Apparently so. No settling in, no feet. Just throw the hands at it first up.

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

It was at least novel in its complete misjudgment. We have seen England bat in Australia without fluidity. Now Brook gave us the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

The Veteran's Steady Response

Therefore one half of this England team kept faltering, while at the other end Root batted not just for his life, but for the entire innings.

He delivered his own quiet rebuke, a victory for doing your homework, addressing your flaws.

The tourists are still in this series because he achieved the milestone, provided a lesson in what talent ultimately means.

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