Within a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink ensemble worn by Robbie Williams. His concert in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a balanced view, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to create literature or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by the environment.
The climate, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is art, the strip is the foundation on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the established format broken apart and reassembled in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which yielded a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Having a thick layer on the surface, leading to numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a rich tapestry, a long history and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating because of the patience made in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the situation and adjusting effectively. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged players. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the fans who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the ground, countless fans waved their flags and created an atmosphere, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack dominated, impetus when batters fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has a history with difficult wickets. In the past, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be attached to them.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," commented a past champion. "The people who have been privileged to see these two days have been experienced some genuine drama. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The players protected him, bringing back the joy to his countenance.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to secure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this MCG win joins other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters departed into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the outfield to commence their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
