Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink suit worn by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. You might think he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a middle ground, admitting that some hits are belting while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no one way to produce music or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the established format broken apart and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the surface which produced a win and the another short match of the series.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the wicket, leading to numerous dismissals tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the time devoted during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more easily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the conditions and adjusting accordingly. The top two individual contributions were made by acknowledged players. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the fans who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the MCG, thousands made noise and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was belief as the attack excelled, momentum when players responded, and unconditional love when the result was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. Previously, a match there featured a pitch with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – both are not the standard, yet value can be found in each.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players responded for him, restoring the smile to his face.
Different players performed with vital performances. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but a starting point to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team gathered on the turf to commence their own festivities.
Savour the moment, boys. You've earned this one.
