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Finally, the very celebration was ideal, under lights under that unique vivid blue southern sky, in the frenzy of the contest – manic Baz energy, England’s lower order scything away death cult-style at the other end.

So yeah. All that stuff. In the middle, Joe Root guided the ball away past fine leg to notch his first Test hundred in Australia.

Yet, the true meaning resonates with those who have followed the journey. Picture trying to explain why this was not just warm, inspiring and cleansing, but subtly monumental.

A Milestone Frozen in Time

A batsman who already had thirty-nine centuries in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now registered his fortieth. However, follow the journey, the skill, the setbacks.

There'll, of course, be a lot of banter-war material to be settled. Is Joe Root finally great? Does he now rank among Australian greats?

However, there is something further about wishing for Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding one-upmanship. Any Australian who understands cricket already knows Root is a world-class cricketer.

The Captain's Hundred as a Solid Foundation

Root’s hundred felt meaningful in other ways, especially as something solid in the series for this team, a anchor 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.

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

It had to start with the early wickets tumbling, and England’s premier batsman coming out at a dire 5 for 2. Root was dropped 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.

On one side, Root was simply being himself, relaxed, graceful, alert. At the other, 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 the swing maestro preparing for the pivotal spell of the day.

A Costly Decision

Do you run towards this danger? Yes. 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 context where this was a good choice.

It was, if nothing else, novel in its abjectness. We have seen England bat in Australia like a rusted machine. Now Brook gave us the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Silent Rebuke

And so one half of this England team continued to collapse, while at the other end Root batted with immense resolve, but for the team's cause.

Root provided his own subtle correction, a triumph for diligence, addressing your flaws.

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

Are they going to bowl Australia out? Can they evolve? It remains to be seen. But Joe Root did score a hundred.