Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink suit performed in by Robbie Williams. The performance in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a major hit.
Perhaps you don't like his music. You might think he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some tracks are excellent while others are poor.
The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to produce literature or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the playing surface.
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 Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the wicket which resulted in a win and the another short match of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the surface, leading to 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the investment committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Some factors are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and adapting effectively. The two highest individual innings were made by world-class batters. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the ground, countless fans made noise and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack dominated, impetus when players fought back, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That contest was a slog, with limited drama and slow play. The latest encounter and that previous match are polar opposites of the spectrum – both are not perfect, yet significance can be found in each.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the history books.
"It's not the death of the long game at all," said a former player. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been treated to some genuine drama. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad responded for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but a starting point to develop from.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the turf to begin their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, lads. You've earned this one.
