Root has been adamant that a personal milestone means very little if England do not return home with the Ashes. He’s right, obviously, but the more runs Root scores, the more likely England are to regain the urn.
On this occasion, his 135 and counting has given England a sniff of a first win in Brisbane since 1986, a first win in a day-nighter in this country and a first win of any kind in Australia since 2011.
Root has been present for 16 winless Tests since his first tour in 2013-14.
On that occasion he was the prodigy in a team that fell apart, dropped for the only time in his Test career for the final match in Sydney.
Four years later, as captain and back at the same ground, Root ended up in hospital after batting in 43-degree heat at the end of a 4-0 series defeat.
Another four years on, Root was in hospital again, this time after taking blows to the unmentionables in the day-night Test in Adelaide.
That 2021-22 series, another 4-0 defeat over which Root presided, was the beginning of the end for his captaincy. He had to watch his team be subjected to suffocating Covid restrictions.
This is probably Root’s last trip to Australia for an Ashes series. England visit again in 15 months for the 150th anniversary Test, but Root will be almost 39 the next time the urn is contested in this country.
Before the thunderous Thursday in Brisbane, no visiting top-order batter had played as many as Root’s 29 innings without registering a century in Australia.
Australians demand success against Australia to bestow respect upon an opposing player.
Darren Lehmann, Root’s former coach at Yorkshire and his host at an academy in Adelaide said he would not have Root in the “all-time great” category while three figures in Australia remained elusive.
When Root landed in Perth last month, the West Australian newspaper splashed him across its front page with the headline “Average Joe” because of the absence of an Australian ton.
Now Lehmann, the West Australian, Kylie Minogue, Chris Hemsworth and Bluey the dog must acknowledge Root as an all-timer.
