Within a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink outfit worn by Robbie Williams. His concert in front of 100,024 fans was considered a triumph.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. You might think he is the greatest gift to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some songs are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by conditions.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the blank slate on which the athletes craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
This is not a justification of the pitch which produced a win and the second two-day Test of the series.
Allowing a thick layer on the surface, leading to numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, a long history and still growing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the time committed during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were unable from playing their natural game.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the conditions and adapting effectively. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, thousands celebrated and chanted, producing a carnival vibe in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack dominated, advantage when the top order responded, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a wicket with the character of a a non-event.
That match was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that previous match are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more the standard, yet historical weight can be ascribed to them.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the memory.
"It's not the demise of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some genuine drama. A unique show."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The team protected him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his face.
Emerging talents delivered with key contributions. These are small positives, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a foundation to develop from.
In the end, this triumph joins other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans departed into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, men. You've earned this one.
