BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — England opener Zak Crawley praised a “flawless” Joe Root after the 34-year-old broke his Australia century drought on the first day of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane on Thursday.

Root had scored 39 Test centuries heading into the Ashes series but he had never passed 100 in Australia on three previous tours.

He also failed in the first Test in Perth, leading some critics to question whether the Yorkshireman could be considered one of cricket’s batting greats without scoring a century on Australian soil.

But he answered the doubters with a masterful 135 not out as England finished the day on 325-9.

Crawley, who shared in a 117-run partnership with Root, said the England dressing room was more jittery than the former captain as he edged towards three figures.

“We were nervous for him for a long while before that,” Crawley said. “You know, I think he was less nervous than us. We were just talking about it for ages before he even got there… And then obviously when he got there we were, we were chuffed for him, and so was everyone at the ground.”

Crawley said Root had barely mentioned the milestone, despite it threatening to become a millstone around his neck.

“He’s like his usual self, he’s so humble,” said Crawley, who exorcised his own Ashes demons with his 76 after bagging a pair of ducks in Perth.

“He’s not trying to make too much of a deal of it, but I’m sure inside he’s pretty, pretty delighted.

“He just played a flawless knock. He made it look effortless.”

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc also paid tribute to Root.

“I think he’s scored a lot of 50s in Australia, and I’m sure he’d be relieved to get that 100,” Starc said.

“He played fantastically well today and assessed the conditions, sucked up some pressure, and got the result by the end of the day.”