Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG sits a electric pink suit donned by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of a hundred thousand fans was seen as a success.
It's possible you appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.
The point being is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is art, the pitch is the foundation on which the players craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the pitch which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the wicket, resulting in 36 wickets falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and counting. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The close matches are all the more thrilling due to the time made elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are tolerated more easily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – reading the conditions and responding effectively. The best individual contributions were made by world-class players. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the supporters who have experienced years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, a sea of people waved their flags and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the attack surged, impetus when players fought back, and unconditional love when the result was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with difficult wickets. In the past, a match there featured a wicket with the character of a a non-event.
That match was a grind, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are polar opposites of the spectrum – neither ideal, yet significance can be found in them.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the history books.
"Far from being the demise of the format at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been treated to some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The team delivered for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
New faces performed with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a foundation to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this MCG win joins other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the turf to commence their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, lads. You've earned this one.
