In a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a neon pink outfit performed in by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a success.
It's possible you enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some hits are belting while others are awful.
The point being is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to create music or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon conditions.
The weather, the time of day, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the pitch.
If the long game is a form of art, the pitch is the canvas on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game broken apart and reassembled in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the surface which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the pitch, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The format is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting because of the time devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and adapting appropriately. The best individual scores were made by world-class stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the MCG, countless fans made noise and chanted, producing a carnival vibe in a bastion of sport.
There was hope as the fielding side surged, momentum when players responded, and unconditional love when the result was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a wicket with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a slog, with minimal action and slow play. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the spectrum – one is not more the standard, yet significance can be attached to them.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The squad protected him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Different players delivered with vital performances. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters departed into a stunning sunset, the players gathered on the turf to begin their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, lads. You've earned this one.
