Within a display cabinet on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink ensemble donned by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of a massive crowd of fans was considered a triumph.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, acknowledging that some hits are belting while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to produce art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon external factors.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the list is endless. Above all is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the strip is the canvas on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game broken apart and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the wicket which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in 36 wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is mistaken.
The long game is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and ongoing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The close matches are particularly captivating because of the patience made elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are embraced more readily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the top batters were hindered from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and adjusting appropriately. The two highest individual innings were made by recognized batters. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have endured 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the ground, thousands made noise and chanted, generating a party atmosphere in a heartland of national pride.
There was optimism as the fielding side excelled, advantage when the top order scored quickly, and unconditional love when the victory was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a slog, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more the standard, yet value can be attached to them.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the history books.
"This isn't the end of the format at all," commented a veteran. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The team delivered for him, restoring the smile to his face.
Different players stepped up with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad congregated on the turf to commence their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, lads. It's well deserved.
