At the eye of the cricketing storm that is Bazball, amid the crash of wickets, the roar of the Edgbaston crowd and the thunder of boundaries, Joe Root remained ... well, Joe Root.
Calm, untroubled, but still infused with the impish brilliance of a master batter freed from the straightjacket of captaincy to express himself with some quite preposterous strokeplay, Root went his own way to a glorious hundred that could help shape this series.
He was the glue that allowed all the manic stuff that comes with England's all-out attack to work on Friday, reaching his 30th Test ton and fourth against Australia off - by Bazball standards - a positively pedestrian 145 balls.
But glue's absolutely not the right word to describe some of the magic he sprinkled.
In 141 years of Ashes combat, has there ever been anything like the amazing reverse ramps over his shoulder, taken off Australia's captain Pat Cummins and super-accurate Scott Boland, that cleared the third man ropes? Quite amazing.
It was a stunning knock, decorated with seven crisp fours as well as four sixes in all, including a couple of huge ones slogged off Nathan Lyon after he'd reached three figures, that demonstrated his total control amid the mayhem.
Though the declaration spoiled his late fun, the knock was a little reminiscent of his century at Cardiff that set his stall for the 2015 series which England went on to win 3-2.
Amazingly, since that series, he hadn't scored a hundred in eight years and 31 innings against Australia. Annoyingly for him, his career has been littered with failures to convert his 50s into hundreds versus the old enemy.
But this was very ominous for the visitors. Root went past 50 for the 20th time in the Ashes, and this time there never seemed a single doubt he would go on to three figures for just the fourth time against them.
His trusty fellow Yorkshireman Jonny Bairstow, back with a run-a-ball 78 after a 10-month layoff, loved every minute of their latest speedy century partnership, recognising that his mate really is a class apart.
""It was brilliant. There are some special traits that he's got and he does special things," beamed Bairstow.
"As someone who has known him for a really long time, been through thick and thin, ups and downs and lots of different things together, it was an absolute pleasure to be out there with him.
"He's a fantastic player and talent. He loves batting, loves being out there, loves the occasion, loves representing his country. It takes a lot of skill, a lot of endeavour and patience."
When he nudged off his hips for an easy single to reach his ton and the umpteenth chorus of "Na, na, na, na ...Joe Root" to the strains of Hey Jude! rang out, it really did sound as if it might just be the soundtrack to the English summer.
