Displayed inside a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink outfit worn by Robbie Williams. His show in front of 100,024 attendees was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce literature or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the session, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the long game is art, the pitch is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport dismantled and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
This is not a defence of the wicket which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, leading to 36 wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The format is a varied portfolio, a long history and counting. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Other times, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the time made in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
The format is about problem solving – interpreting the conditions and adapting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by acknowledged stars. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the supporters who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the fielding side surged, advantage when the top order responded, and unconditional love when the win was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a strip with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – one is not more the standard, yet significance can be ascribed to both.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of the format at all," said a former player. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been given some real entertainment. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players protected him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his persona.
Different players stepped up with crucial roles. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the field to commence their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, men. It's well deserved.
