Within a showcase on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a vibrant pink suit worn by Robbie Williams. His show in front of a massive crowd of attendees was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you appreciate his music. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon conditions.
The elements, the time of day, the red ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which resulted in a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting due to the investment devoted elsewhere.
Adaptation: The True Test
Certain variables are tolerated more freely than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the top batters were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the situation and adapting appropriately. The best individual innings were made by recognized batters. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the fans who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the ground, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, fostering a party atmosphere in a stronghold of national pride.
There was hope as the bowlers excelled, advantage when players fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with controversial surfaces. Previously, a game there featured a strip with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be ascribed to each.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," said a past champion. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The team protected him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his persona.
Different players stepped up with vital performances. These are baby steps, hardly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a starting point to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad gathered on the outfield to begin their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. You've earned this one.
