In a display cabinet on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink ensemble donned by Robbie Williams. His show in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, acknowledging that some tracks are fantastic while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon conditions.
The climate, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the pitch is the canvas on which the players craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the established format dismantled and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the pitch which yielded a victory and the another short match of the series.
Having excessive grass on the wicket, leading to numerous dismissals tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the investment made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Certain variables are tolerated more easily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the contest was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the top batters were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the conditions and adjusting effectively. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class stars. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the MCG, countless fans made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was optimism as the attack dominated, advantage when batters fought back, and rapturous celebration when the victory was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with minimal action and slow play. The latest encounter and that previous match are extreme ends of the range – one is not more the standard, yet significance can be found in both.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the history books.
"It's not the end of the format at all," observed a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The squad responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his persona.
Emerging talents stepped up with crucial roles. These are small positives, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters left into a stunning sunset, the squad assembled on the turf to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, men. You've earned this one.
