In a glass case on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a electric pink outfit worn by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of a hundred thousand fans was seen as a triumph.
It's possible you like Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, acknowledging that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The point being is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to produce music or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the wicket 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 traditional sport taken to pieces and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the wicket which produced a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing excessive grass on the wicket, causing numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The format is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Other times, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are particularly captivating due to the investment made during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are tolerated more freely than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were unable from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the conditions and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual innings were made by acknowledged batters. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the MCG, countless fans celebrated and chanted, producing a festive mood in a stronghold of national pride.
There was optimism as the bowlers surged, momentum when the top order scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the victory was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That match was a marathon, with few wickets and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be found in them.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the memory.
"It's not the death of Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, reinstating the smile to his countenance.
Emerging talents stepped up with vital performances. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to develop from.
Ultimately, this MCG win is added to other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the team assembled on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
