Within a showcase on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a neon pink outfit performed in by Robbie Williams. The show in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a triumph.
It's possible you like Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some hits are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to craft art or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon the environment.
The elements, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the players craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
This is not a endorsement of the wicket which produced a victory and the another short match of the series.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the surface, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting due to the patience committed during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The True Test
Certain variables are tolerated more easily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and adapting effectively. The best individual scores were made by world-class stars. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, countless fans made noise and chanted, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the attack excelled, impetus when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. In the past, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That match was a slog, with few wickets and slow play. The latest encounter and that previous match are extreme ends of the range – both are not the standard, yet significance can be found in them.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the death of the long game at all," said a past champion. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been treated to some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the captain spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The team protected him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his persona.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term futures, but a starting point to develop from.
At the very least, this MCG win joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the squad congregated on the field to begin their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, boys. It's well deserved.
