In a showcase on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a vibrant pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of a massive crowd of fans was hailed as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are awful.
The point being is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create music or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon external factors.
The elements, the session, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the wicket.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the athletes create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the pitch which resulted in a triumph and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the surface, causing 36 wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling due to the patience devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and adapting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the stadium, a sea of people waved their flags and chanted, producing a carnival vibe in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the fielding side surged, momentum when the top order scored quickly, and unconditional love when the win was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. In the past, a game there featured a wicket with all the life of a a damp squib.
That match was a marathon, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the range – both are not perfect, yet value can be found in both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the memory.
"This isn't the demise of the format at all," commented a past champion. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been experienced some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Emerging talents performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to ensure long-term futures, but a foundation to build on.
Ultimately, this triumph is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
