Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink suit worn by Robbie Williams. His concert in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a triumph.
You might not enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are excellent while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the wicket.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
This is not a justification of the surface which produced a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, causing 36 wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it turns square on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting due to the patience devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Some factors are embraced more easily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the top batters were prevented from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the conditions and responding effectively. The two highest individual scores were made by acknowledged stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have endured a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, countless fans celebrated and chanted, producing a festive mood in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the fielding side surged, advantage when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the win was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a non-event.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that slow Test are extreme ends of the range – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be found in each.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," said a veteran. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been experienced some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team responded for him, restoring the smile to his face.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to develop from.
In the end, this MCG win joins other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans left into a beautiful night, the squad gathered on the field to commence their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. It's well deserved.
