Displayed inside a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a neon pink suit donned by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of a massive crowd of fans was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. You might think he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some hits are belting while others are awful.
The point being is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon the environment.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport dismantled and reconstructed in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the wicket which yielded a triumph and the another short match of the series.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the wicket, resulting in 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and ongoing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are particularly captivating owing to the investment committed elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are embraced more easily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the conditions and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, a sea of people celebrated and created an atmosphere, fostering a carnival vibe in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the fielding side surged, momentum when batters responded, and pure joy when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has a history with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a strip with all the life of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – neither perfect, yet value can be attached to them.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the demise of the long game at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The players protected him, reinstating the smile to his countenance.
Different players performed with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term success, but a foundation to use as a platform.
In the end, this MCG win is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team assembled on the outfield to start their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, men. You've earned this one.
