Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink ensemble donned by Robbie Williams. The show in front of a hundred thousand attendees was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music in history. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The point being is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to create music or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by conditions.
The weather, the time of day, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the foundation on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which resulted in a victory and the another short match of the series.
Allowing a thick layer on the pitch, resulting in 36 wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the patience devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more easily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about problem solving – assessing the conditions and adjusting effectively. The top two individual scores were made by recognized batters. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the MCG, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers excelled, momentum when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the win was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. In the past, a Test there featured a strip with all the life of a a non-event.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be found in them.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," observed a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The team protected him, restoring the joy to his persona.
Different players performed with crucial roles. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to secure long-term stability, but something to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters departed into a stunning sunset, the squad congregated on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, lads. It's well deserved.
