In a display cabinet on the third floor of the MCG sits a electric pink suit performed in by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of a hundred thousand attendees was seen as a success.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to produce art or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.
The elements, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the foundation on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
This is not a defence of the wicket which yielded a triumph and the another short match of the series.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The format is a rich tapestry, a long history and counting. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the investment devoted during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The True Test
Some factors are embraced more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the balance was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and adapting accordingly. The top two individual innings were made by recognized players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the fans who have experienced years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the stadium, a sea of people celebrated and created an atmosphere, fostering a carnival vibe in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack dominated, momentum when players responded, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and slow play. This recent match and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet value can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the demise of the format at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been experienced some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad responded for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with key contributions. These are small positives, certainly not enough to ensure long-term futures, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans left into a stunning sunset, the team congregated on the field to commence their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, lads. It's well deserved.
