Within a glass case on the elevated floor of the MCG rests a neon pink outfit worn by Robbie Williams. The show in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a triumph.
You might not enjoy Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, admitting that some songs are belting while others are poor.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce music or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on external factors.
The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Above all is the wicket.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the foundation on which the athletes create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the pitch which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Having excessive grass on the wicket, leading to a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and counting. At times, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling because of the investment devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are accepted more readily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and adjusting appropriately. The best individual scores were made by acknowledged batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the stadium, thousands celebrated and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of national pride.
There was hope as the bowlers surged, advantage when players fought back, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. Previously, a match there featured a strip with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with few wickets and endless boredom. This recent match and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – both are not perfect, yet historical weight can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the death of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these short time have been treated to some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his countenance.
New faces stepped up with vital performances. These are small positives, certainly not enough to ensure long-term success, but something to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters departed into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the turf to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, men. This victory was hard-fought.
