And there was clear and evident frustration when he was out with the England skipper punching his bat in frustration as he left the stage.
But when the dust settles and the temper cools, England and their captain can look back at his elevation to No 3 in the order and judge it a qualified success.
It was always going to be the case after the first day that Root’s contribution would be held up to the light of Steve Smith’s emphatic opening statement in this Ashes and judged.
And in truth, the England captain’s somewhat scratchy 57 – an innings peppered liberally with more than its fair share of good fortune – paled in comparison. How could it not given the dramatic context of Smith’s step on the road to redemption?
But there was no doubt that Root can claim a little piece of reflected glory from Rory Burns’ century having helped him through the difficult period after Jason Roy’s dismissal at 22-1 and provided a helpful buffer between Burns and Joe Denly coming in at four.
Root’s frustration after block driving back to Peter Siddle – the Australian sticking out a right hand to grab the return catch before tossing it nonchalantly up in his follow through – was clear.
Sinking on to his bat, he hauled himself off towards the dressing room steps a picture of building frustration at another opportunity missed, punching the bat as he went.
Root’s annoyance will have had its foundations in the shot a loose checked drive and in the timing of his exit on 57 with Australia starting to wilt a little at 154-1. There will also be personal frustration at another opportunity missed to post a century.
The England captain has recently put to bed talk of conversion rates from half centuries to hundreds having converted his last three, against India at The Oval last summer, Sri Lanka in Pallekelle and against West Indies in St Lucia.
Yet Smith’s efforts and the coincidence of figures which now state he has converted exactly half of the 48 half centuries he has reached into hundreds resurrected the debate.
For the record Root’s 27.5 per cent conversion statistic is on the low side compared to Smith (50 per cent) who is comparable with Michael Clarke (50.9 per cent with 28 from 55), Matthew Hayden (50.8 per cent with 30 from 59) and Younis Khan (50.7 per cent with 34 from 67).
All are in the foothills compared to the giant of Don Bradman who converted 29 of his 42 half centuries for a staggering 69 per cent success rate.
But Root should not get hung up on the numbers or the fact that his average is lower at three than it is at four for that matter because he has moved to three, it is the right thing for the team and he has to make it stick.
There were several strokes of good luck which helped.
A leading edge fell just short of James Pattinson when he was yet to score, he left one from Nathan Lyon that nearly bowled him on three, he was reprieved (on review) by an inside edge off Peter Siddle on 14.
Most notably, he was given out on nine caught behind off Pattinson only for his immediate review to show it indeed missed his bat but clipped his off stump, lifting the bail which kindly dropped back into its groove.
As Pattinson spun on his heel to throw a few choice thoughts his way, Root displayed his schoolboy grin at him. It is a wonder he does not get more short stuff.
After looking jaded in the World Cup Final when he struggled to get into second gear and out of sorts again against Ireland after which he admitted he was ‘knackered’ ahead of the Ashes, will have done him good.
He may not have made the statement he wanted after Smith’s heroics on Thursday but he is in the game and, more importantly, in the right place in this team to deliver a telling contribution somewhere between now and The Oval.