Within a glass case on the third floor of the MCG rests a neon pink suit performed in by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a triumph.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a middle ground, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to create literature or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the surface which resulted in a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the wicket, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: 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.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and still growing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the investment made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are tolerated more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the best players were prevented from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and responding effectively. The best individual innings were made by world-class players. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the MCG, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, fostering a party atmosphere in a heartland of sport.
There was optimism as the attack surged, advantage when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a match there featured a strip with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a grind, with minimal action and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the scale – one is not more ideal, yet value can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"This isn't the death of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad responded for him, restoring the smile to his countenance.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term success, but a foundation to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a stunning sunset, the players gathered on the turf to begin their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, boys. It's well deserved.
