🔗 Share this article Magnificent Joe Root Basks in Aussie Triumph at Long Last but Brook’s Error May Prove Costly In the end, the very celebration was flawless, under lights under that unusual intense blue southern sky, amid the chaos of the match situation – manic Baz energy, the English lower order swinging freely in a do-or-die manner at the other end. So yeah. All that stuff. In the middle, the veteran batsman guided the ball away to fine leg to notch his first Test hundred in Australia. But, then if you know, you know. Picture trying to explain the reason this was more than warm, inspiring and cathartic, but quietly epic. A Moment Frozen in Time A batsman who already possessed 39 tons in this starchy formal dance of a sport has now registered his 40th. Yet, trace the story, the skill, the setbacks. There will, of course, be a lot of banter-war material to be settled. Has Joe Root finally achieved greatness? Is he *Australian* great? However, there is something further about hoping for Root to be great in Australia. It isn't regarding rivalry. Any Australian who understands cricket is well aware Root is a great cricketer. The Captain's Hundred as a Reliable Handhold Root’s hundred felt important in other ways, especially as something solid in the series for this team, a foothold in the ice. Can England secure victory at the Gabba? Don’t know. 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 outstanding 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. A chance was put down early in the slips. The Contrast in the Middle As the day progressed, England were 3/175. Two embodiments of elite Yorkshire-dom at the crease. On one side, Root was simply being himself, easy, lithe, alert. Meanwhile, Brook was batting like a man who desperately needs the bathroom. All the while, a darkness was coming, the shadows creeping across the ground, and the pink ball genius building up for the key spell of the day. A Costly Choice Do you run towards this danger? Yes. No sighters, no feet. Just a reckless waft first up. The delivery to Brook was full-length, the edge clear. There is no context where this was a sensible choice. It was at least novel in its complete misjudgment. We have seen England bat in Australia like a rusted machine. Now Brook presented the scarecrow, batting without a brain. The Veteran's Silent Response And so one half of this England team kept faltering, while at the other end Root batted for survival, but for the team's cause. He offered his own subtle correction, a triumph for doing your homework, working at your flaws. England are still in this series because he achieved the milestone, offered a lesson in what skill in the end means. Will they take twenty wickets? Can they evolve? Uncertain. But Joe Root made a hundred.