Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a electric pink outfit worn by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of 100,024 fans was considered a success.
You might not enjoy his music. You might think he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are awful.
The point being is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to craft music or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The elements, the session, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the wicket.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
This is not a defence of the surface which resulted in a win and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing a thick layer on the surface, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a rich tapestry, a long history and counting. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Other times, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are all the more thrilling because of the time devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and adjusting effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the ground, countless fans made noise and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the bowlers excelled, momentum when batters fought back, and unconditional love when the result was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – neither the standard, yet value can be attached to each.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," commented a former player. "Fans who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his countenance.
Different players performed with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory is added to other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters slipped away into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, men. It's well deserved.
