Ashes: Joe Root ends century drought, scores first

After 16 matches, 30 innings, and four tours spread across over a decade, Joe Root finally had his moment in Australia. The England batter reached his maiden century on Australian soil on Thursday at the Gabba in Brisbane, in the second Test of the ongoing Ashes series, bringing an end to a long wait. Root reached the milestone in 181 balls, batting through a phase when England needed stability and control, and in the process, checked off one of the few achievements missing from his record. His earlier highest Test score on Australian soil was 89. With the century on Thursday, Joe Root has now scored 40 hundreds in his Test career. Root is now only one behind former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who has 41 Test hundreds. Overall, Root is at number four in terms of number of cent