Displayed inside a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. His show in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like his music. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, conceding that some hits are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon the environment.
The elements, the time of day, the ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the players craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game broken apart and reassembled in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the pitch which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Allowing a thick layer on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting because of the investment made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
The format is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and responding appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the supporters who have experienced years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the MCG, a sea of people celebrated and sang their songs, producing a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the attack excelled, momentum when players fought back, and unconditional love when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and slow play. This recent match and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – both are not the standard, yet value can be found in both.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," commented a veteran. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these short time have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players responded for him, bringing back the smile to his countenance.
New faces stepped up with crucial roles. These are baby steps, hardly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to build on.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory is added to other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team assembled on the outfield to begin their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
