Displayed inside a showcase on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink ensemble worn by Robbie Williams. His concert in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you appreciate his music. You might think he is the finest offering to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to craft art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by external factors.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the wicket.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the established format dismantled and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the wicket which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, leading to a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The format is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the seamers. Other times, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the time made during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and responding appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the supporters who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands made noise and created an atmosphere, fostering a festive mood in a heartland of national pride.
There was hope as the attack excelled, advantage when players fought back, and unconditional love when the result was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That fixture was a marathon, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that slow Test are extreme ends of the range – neither ideal, yet historical weight can be found in each.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," observed a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been experienced some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team delivered for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term stability, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this MCG win joins other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the turf to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, lads. It's well deserved.
