Within a showcase on the third floor of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink outfit performed in by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on external factors.
The climate, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.
If the long game is a form of art, the wicket is the foundation on which the athletes create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the surface which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the pitch, leading to numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the time devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Certain variables are embraced more easily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were prevented from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and responding accordingly. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class batters. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, thousands celebrated and sang their songs, producing a carnival vibe in a heartland of sport.
There was belief as the fielding side surged, impetus when batters scored quickly, and unconditional love when the victory was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a non-event.
That contest was a slog, with minimal action and slow play. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – neither ideal, yet value can be ascribed to each.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his face.
Emerging talents delivered with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad gathered on the outfield to start their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
