Displayed inside a glass case on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a neon pink outfit worn by Robbie Williams. The performance in front of a massive crowd of spectators was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the canvas on which the players craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in abstract form.
This is not a justification of the pitch which produced a triumph and the second two-day Test of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the pitch, leading to numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and ongoing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are particularly captivating due to the time made in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are tolerated more readily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the top batters were unable from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and adapting effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class players. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the ground, thousands made noise and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, advantage when the top order responded, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. Previously, a match there featured a wicket with the character of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – neither the standard, yet value can be found in both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the end of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been fortunate to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players protected him, reinstating the smile to his countenance.
Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are small positives, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
Ultimately, this triumph is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the team assembled on the turf to start their own festivities.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
