In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. His concert in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are poor.
The point being is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft art or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the foundation on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the established format broken apart and reconstructed in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the pitch, causing 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. In contrast, it turns square on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the time devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are tolerated more easily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from playing their natural game.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the wicket and adapting accordingly. The top two individual innings were made by recognized players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands celebrated and created an atmosphere, producing a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, advantage when the top order scored quickly, and unconditional love when the result was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a wicket with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a grind, with minimal action and slow play. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – both are not perfect, yet historical weight can be attached to both.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this match, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The squad protected him, reinstating the smile to his persona.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are small positives, not nearly enough to ensure long-term futures, but a foundation to build on.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the turf to commence their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, men. This victory was hard-fought.
