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3 days ago
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Joe Root ended his long wait for a Test century in Australia by reaching three figures on day one of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane.
In his 30th innings down under, after all of the pre-series talk, Root dug in as he has so often to keep England afloat in the day-night Test.
The 34-year-old came in with his side reeling at 5-2 in the third over, was dropped on two and saw wickets tumble from the other end but reached the 40th century of his illustrious Test career late in the evening session with the score 256-7.
He got to the landmark with a flick to fine leg, removed his helmet and saluted the crowd with a typically measured celebration.
"Even Australia will have to admit he's a great now," said his former England team-mate Sir Alastair Cook on TNT Sports.
"It is a brilliant innings and just what England needed.
"He's been superb under pressure as always. He is England's best batsman ever. He just gets better and better."
Before this innings, Root had made nine fifties and scored 900 runs in Australia, but his average of 33.33 was the lowest of any country in which he had batted more than twice.
The century moves Root within one of Australia great Ricky Ponting, who sits third on the list of most hundreds in Test history.
More significantly, however, it ends any conversation about whether or not Root, already the second-highest run-scorer in Tests, can be considered an all-time great without a Test century in Australia - an opinion put forward by former Australia coach and batter Darren Lehmann.
"He has fought so hard for this," BBC Test Match Special commentator Jonathan Agnew said. "That will quieten a few critics."
Root's knock was not without its moments of tension.
On 88, one short of his previous best in Australia, Root berated himself for pushing and missing outside off stump to bowler Cameron Green.
There were lbw reviews on 62 and 73 - Scott Boland the bowler on both occasions - but the first would have missed the stumps and the second hit Root's front pad outside off stump.
Talk about Root's Australian record ramped up in the summer when former Australia batter David Warner referenced his "surfboard" of a front pad.
In truth, edging to the wicketkeeper and slips has been his real weakness with another dismissal in that manner in the first Test in Perth making it nine in his past 12 innings down under.
Root could have fallen in that fashion with only two to his name. He was squared up by Mitchell Starc, as he was in the first innings in Perth, and nicked towards the cordon.
The ball would not not have carried Marnus Labuschagne at first slip but Steve Smith, diving across from second, got a hand to the ball only for it to fall from his grasp.
From there Root batted smartly.
Guiding the ball behind point is one of his biggest strengths at home but that shot has been blamed for his struggles in Australia, where the ball bounces higher and edges are found.
In Brisbane, Root scored just 10% of his first 50 runs behind square on the off-side, instead targeting the 'V' down the ground. Only later did that familiar stroke return.
Root also made a conscious effort to get down the pitch to negate any movement with the pink ball.
His average interception point was 1.87m from the stumps – the highest in all but one of his innings in Australia.
Few will be happier that Root reached three figures than former Australia opener Matthew Hayden, who promised to walk around the Melbourne Cricket Ground naked if he did not score a hundred in the series.
"Congratulations on a hundred here in Australia mate," Hayden said.
"Took you a while and there was no one that had more skin in the game than me, literally.
"I was backing you for a hundred in a good way.
"Congratulations, 10 fifties and finally a hundred. You little ripper mate, have a beauty and enjoy it."
