Displayed inside a glass case on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a vibrant pink suit performed in by Robbie Williams. His show in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a triumph.
You might not like the performer. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to create art or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the foundation on which the players craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport dismantled and reconstructed in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the surface which resulted in a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, leading to 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and ongoing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are even more exciting due to the patience committed in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the balance was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual contributions were made by recognized players. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the stadium, countless fans celebrated and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of national pride.
There was optimism as the fielding side surged, momentum when the top order scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. In the past, a game there featured a wicket with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the scale – neither the standard, yet significance can be found in both.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a veteran. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team delivered for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Different players performed with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to secure long-term futures, but a starting point to use as a platform.
At the very least, this triumph joins other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans departed into a stunning sunset, the squad assembled on the field to begin their own festivities.
Savour the moment, men. You've earned this one.
