In a display cabinet on the third floor of the MCG rests a electric pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of 100,024 attendees was considered a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like the performer. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, conceding that some songs are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft art or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the pitch.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport dismantled and reassembled in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the pitch which yielded a victory and the second two-day Test of the series.
Having a thick layer on the pitch, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The format is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and counting. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are particularly captivating owing to the patience devoted in other matches.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are embraced more readily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the top batters were unable from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the situation and adapting effectively. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have experienced 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, fostering a carnival vibe in a stronghold of sport.
There was hope as the attack dominated, momentum when players scored quickly, and unconditional love when the victory was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a slog, with few wickets and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – both are not ideal, yet significance can be found in each.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of the long game at all," observed a former player. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The team responded for him, reinstating the joy to his persona.
New faces performed with vital performances. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this triumph is added to other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team gathered on the field to commence their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
