Within a showcase on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink ensemble donned by Robbie Williams. The show in front of a massive crowd of spectators was considered a success.
It's possible you like his music. You might think he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are poor.
The central idea is that amusement can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by the environment.
The climate, the hour of play, the red ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the wicket.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the foundation on which the players craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the great game broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which yielded a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the patience committed elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Certain variables are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the situation and responding appropriately. The best individual scores were made by recognized batters. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was hope as the bowlers excelled, advantage when players responded, and pure joy when the win was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with difficult wickets. In the past, a Test there featured a wicket with the character of a a damp squib.
That match was a marathon, with limited drama and slow play. The two-day game and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – neither the standard, yet significance can be ascribed to both.
At this stage into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the demise of the format at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been privileged to see these short time have been treated to some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The squad responded for him, reinstating the smile to his countenance.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to develop from.
At the very least, this MCG win is added to other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the outfield to commence their own festivities.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
