Within a glass case on the third floor of the MCG sits a electric pink ensemble worn by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was considered a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are fantastic 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 craft art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon conditions.
The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and counting. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The close matches are even more exciting due to the time committed during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Some factors are tolerated more easily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the situation and adapting appropriately. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged stars. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the stadium, thousands celebrated and created an atmosphere, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the fielding side dominated, advantage when the top order scored quickly, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a wicket with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – neither the standard, yet significance can be ascribed to them.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the death of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team responded for him, reinstating the smile to his countenance.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to ensure long-term success, but a foundation to develop from.
Ultimately, this MCG win is added to other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters slipped away into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the turf to commence their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
