In a display cabinet on the third floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink ensemble worn by Robbie Williams. His show in front of a massive crowd of spectators was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, conceding that some hits are excellent while others are poor.
The key argument is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Having a thick layer on the wicket, causing 36 wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and counting. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the patience committed in other matches.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are embraced more easily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were prevented from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and adjusting effectively. The top two individual innings were made by recognized stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a party atmosphere in a heartland of national pride.
There was belief as the bowlers surged, momentum when the top order responded, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that slow Test are extreme ends of the range – one is not more perfect, yet value can be attached to both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," said a veteran. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team protected him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Different players delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to develop from.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd left into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the outfield to commence their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
