If you’re an England supporter, or simply part of the Root fan club, then 4 December was one of those nights you’ll stash away forever. After years of waiting, hoping, worrying, and occasionally yelling at the telly, we finally reached the moment when Joe Root scored a century in Australia. It sounds simple written down like that, but anyone who has followed his journey knows just how much emotional baggage the sentence carries. A shrug, a leg glance, and suddenly Joe Root scored his maiden century in Australia, finally settling the one debate that had hung annoyingly over him. For fans, it felt like a collective exhale, a release so overdue it bordered on therapeutic.

Joe Root Scored a Century in Australia

Walking out at the Gabba, always a bit of a house of horrors for visiting teams, Root seemed to bring a different kind of calm with him. Amid the early chaos, the England team in Gabba looked fragile, but Root wasn’t buying into the drama. He rebuilt with a serenity that looked almost unreasonable given the situation. With every clip, block and tidy steer, he was quietly rewriting history. By the time he eased into three figures, he had also pushed towards his highest score in Australia, a landmark that felt like the natural conclusion to years of sweat and frustration.

🚨 HE’S DONE IT! 🚨

No doubt before. No doubt now.

A true great of the game 🙌 pic.twitter.com/TpZex7RpaL

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 4, 2025

His unbeaten 135 at stumps not only anchored the innings, it also instantly put this knock into the conversation for Joe Root’s highest score in Australia, a phrase sheerly unthinkable when he arrived at 5 for 2. And as the evening session tightened and the bowlers steamed in, Root helped drag the England team in Gabba from a precarious situation into something resembling confidence again. For good measure: that magical 135 is, of course, Joe Root’s highest score in Australia, and there’s no better place to do that than against Australia under the lights.

Years of Frustration on Aussie Soil

Before Thursday evening’s catharsis, Root’s Australian story read like a tragicomedy. Across 12 years, three Ashes tours and more headlines than he’d ever wish for, Australia had been the one place where he simply couldn’t crack the code. Fans got used to the statistics, broadcasters mentioned them every 10 minutes, and Aussie papers gleefully splashed “Average Joe” across their sports pages. Meanwhile, the England team in Gabba and elsewhere in Australia kept watching him start beautifully only to fall just short, over and over again.

HE’S FINALLY DONE IT!

Joe Root has his first #Ashes century in Australia.

Live blog: https://t.co/2htO3lMX8d pic.twitter.com/9uZ26zQnPp

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 4, 2025

There was the debut tour in 2013–14, the hospital dash in 2017–18 after batting in brutal heat, and the painful 2021–22 series when he not only couldn’t buy a win but had to captain a side inside strict Covid bubbles. All that without a ton. For a batter widely considered one of England’s greatest, the absence of an Australian century had become an unwanted punchline. And until yesterday, he had never turned all those tidy beginnings into something worthy of shouting about, let alone something like Joe Root’s highest score in Australia. But when that leg glance off Boland finally settled the debate, it felt as if the weight of his entire Australian experience slipped right off his shoulders.

Related Article：Joe Root vs Steve Smith：Who’s Really Owning the Ashes Numbers This Time?

Others Falter as Root Holds Firm

Here’s the thing, though: while Root was busy putting demons to bed, the rest of the batting card seemed to be rehearsing for a blooper reel. The England team in Gabba had moments where it looked sharp, but a few dismissals belonged in the “what on earth was that?” category.

🗣️ “To me now we’re getting to the situation of, is he recognising the game scenario?”

– Stuart Broad goes in depth on Harry Brook’s dismissal today #Ashes pic.twitter.com/22lF3GUMrQ

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 4, 2025

Harry Brook, for all his talent, once again pushed the patience of both teammates and commentators. Stuart Broad wasn’t subtle about it either, asking on air, “Is Harry Brook aware of what’s happening at that time in the Test match?” Brook had raced to 31, only to throw it away first ball of a Starc spell—just as the twilight period made batting harder. It was a freebie, and everyone knew it. Nasser Hussain didn’t miss the chance to add, “I thought Harry was away with the fairies a bit today.” You could almost sense Root muttering under his breath as Brook wandered back.

This angle of Ben stokes run out pic.twitter.com/gEZSvF8g1N

— MAHESH (@_MAHESHICT) December 4, 2025

Then came Ben Stokes’ run-out. A moment that belonged in a sitcom rather than an Ashes Test. Root made the perfectly sensible call of “no run”, while Stokes charged ahead like a man who’d left the oven on at home. Inglis hit the stumps cleanly, and off trudged the captain. Suddenly England were wobbling again, and not even the fact that Joe Root scored a century in Australia could soften the frustration felt by fans who knew 400 was on the table.

ANOTHER FOR AUSTRALIA ☝

Jamie Smith goes for a duck.#TheAshes pic.twitter.com/gt82euJr8v

— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) December 4, 2025

Jamie Smith, Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse followed in something close to a procession, leaving Root and Jofra Archer to rescue the innings with an unlikely last-wicket stand. Archer’s punchy cameo was the perfect foil, allowing Root to play with some freedom—yes, including the audacious reverse scoop that felt like a cheeky tag on Gabba turf.

England’s greatest has done it all over the world, and now he’s finally ticked Australia off the list. ✅

A sublime century at the Gabba to cement Joe Root’s iconic status. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿#BBCCricket #Ashes pic.twitter.com/W8vNPRGTCU

— Test Match Special (@bbctms) December 4, 2025

Final Words

Even with Root leading from the front and pushing for Joe Root’s highest score in Australia, these loose dismissals mean England may yet look back and wonder what might have been. But at least for one glorious night, the England team in Gabba had something to genuinely smile about.