In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a neon pink ensemble donned by Robbie Williams. The show in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some hits are fantastic while others are poor.
The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.
The weather, the time of day, the ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the wicket.
If the format is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the players craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the surface, resulting in numerous dismissals being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are even more exciting owing to the time made during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the situation and adjusting accordingly. The best individual innings were made by world-class batters. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the fans who have experienced years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, thousands made noise and sang their songs, producing a party atmosphere in a heartland of national pride.
There was belief as the attack dominated, momentum when players responded, and unconditional love when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with controversial surfaces. In the past, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That match was a marathon, with minimal action and slow play. This recent match and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – neither perfect, yet significance can be ascribed to each.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the end of the format at all," commented a veteran. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been experienced some genuine drama. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The squad protected him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his face.
Different players delivered with vital performances. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans left into a beautiful night, the squad congregated on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, boys. You've earned this one.
