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Finally, the very celebration was ideal, under lights under that strange deep-blue southern sky, within the tumult of the match situation – frantic Baz energy, England’s lower order scything away with reckless abandon at the other end.

Indeed. All of that. In the middle, Joe Root guided the ball away to fine leg to complete his long-awaited 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 cleansing, but profoundly significant.

A Milestone Preserved in Time

A man who already possessed 39 tons in this rigorous discipline of a sport has now compiled his fortieth. Yet, follow the narrative, the craft, the twists and turns.

There'll, of course, be plenty of discussion material to be settled. Does this cement Joe Root's greatness? Is he considered great by Australian standards?

But there is something deeper about wishing for Root to be great in Australia. This isn't concerning rivalry. Every Australian who knows about cricket already knows Root is a great cricketer.

Root's Hundred as a Solid Foundation

This ton felt important in other ways, especially as something solid in the series for this team, a handhold in the difficulty.

Will England triumph at the Gabba? Don’t know. 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 superb one in genuinely tough conditions, an innings that could have saved his team in this series.

It began with the team in deep trouble, and England’s greatest modern player coming out at a dire 5 for 2. He was given a life early in the slips.

The Dichotomy in the Middle

In the afternoon session, England were 3/175. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire grit at the crease.

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

Throughout, a gloom was coming, shadows creeping across the ground, and Mitchell Starc building up for the pivotal spell of the day.

A Damaging Stroke

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

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

It was, if nothing else, novel in its complete misjudgment. We have seen England bat in Australia like the Tin Man. Now Brook gave us the scarecrow, batting without a brain.

Root's Steady Rebuke

And so one half of this England team continued to collapse, while at the other end Root batted not just for his life, but for the entire innings.

He offered his own quiet rebuke, a success for doing your homework, correcting your flaws.

The tourists are still in this series because he scaled the peak, offered a lesson in what talent in the end means.

Will they take twenty wickets? Are they going to learn? Not sure. But Joe Root compiled a hundred.