Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the MCG sits a electric pink suit performed in by Robbie Williams. His concert in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a triumph.
You might not like his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, admitting that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The point being is that amusement can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon the environment.
The weather, the time of day, the ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the wicket.
If the format is art, the strip is the foundation on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reassembled in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, resulting in 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
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 incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. In contrast, it turns square on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the patience committed during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more easily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and adjusting accordingly. The top two individual contributions were made by recognized batters. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the ground, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, generating a festive mood in a bastion of national pride.
There was hope as the attack surged, advantage when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither the standard, yet historical weight can be attached to both.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the demise of Test cricket at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been experienced some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The players responded for him, restoring the joy to his persona.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term success, but something to build on.
Ultimately, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the fans left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the outfield to begin their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, men. You've earned this one.
