Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink ensemble donned by Robbie Williams. His concert in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a success.
You might not enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, conceding that some hits are excellent while others are terrible.
The point being is that amusement can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.
The weather, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the foundation on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which produced a win and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Allowing excessive grass on the surface, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and counting. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it turns square on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are particularly captivating because of the investment devoted elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Some factors are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the top batters were prevented from showcasing their talents.
The format is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the wicket and responding accordingly. The top two individual scores were made by recognized players. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the devotees who have experienced years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people waved their flags and sang their songs, producing a party atmosphere in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the attack excelled, advantage when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with all the life of a a non-event.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – one is not more the standard, yet significance can be ascribed to both.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the history books.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," said a past champion. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these short time have been treated to some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The squad delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his persona.
New faces performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a foundation to develop from.
In the end, this MCG win is added to other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players assembled on the outfield to start their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
