England’s premier batter has finally conquered his final frontier, scoring a masterful century at the Gabba to rescue the tourists from a disastrous start in the second Ashes Test.
Joe Root has scored his first-ever Test century in Australia, ending a decade-long wait and silencing his critics on the opening day of the day-night Test in Brisbane. The former England captain reached the milestone off 181 balls, anchoring his side’s recovery to finish unbeaten on 135 as England closed Day 1 on 325-9.
Walking to the crease under the Gabba floodlights with England reeling at 5-2 after Mitchell Starc removed both openers for ducks, Root displayed immaculate composure. He combined with Zak Crawley (76) to stitch together a crucial 117-run partnership that steadied the ship.
Root brought up his 40th Test hundred with a boundary off Scott Boland, a landmark that moves him within one century of Ricky Ponting’s all-time tally of 41. It was his 30th Test innings in Australia but arguably his most significant, erasing the one glaring anomaly in his otherwise stellar career record: a lack of three figures on Australian soil.
Despite Root’s heroics, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc remained a constant threat, claiming his 18th five-wicket haul (6-71) to keep the hosts in the contest. Root found late support from Jofra Archer (32*), with whom he shared an aggressive unbeaten stand to push England past the 300 mark.
“Good on ya mate, ripper knock,” said Australian legend Matthew Hayden, who had famously vowed to “run naked around the MCG” if Root failed to score a century this series. “Took you a while… but there was no-one that had more skin in the game than me, literally.”
Commentators described the innings as a “victory for old school technique in the Bazball era,” noting how Root absorbed the early pressure before unleashing his trademark reverse scoops once set.
Root’s drought in Australia had been a major talking point leading into the 2025/26 series. Prior to this innings, he had played 15 Tests in the country without converting a fifty, averaging a modest 35 compared to his global average of over 50.
The century comes at a vital moment for England, who trail 1-0 in the series after a heavy eight-wicket defeat in the opener at Perth. Root’s return to form provides a glimmer of hope that the tourists can challenge Australia’s dominance in the pink-ball contest.
England will resume on Friday looking to squeeze as many runs as possible from the final wicket partnership. For Root, the focus now shifts to chasing down Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time run record (51 centuries), a target that looks increasingly achievable with every innings.
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