Within a display cabinet on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a neon pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. His show in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some songs are excellent while others are awful.
The point being is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to create art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.
The elements, the hour of play, the red ball – the list is endless. Above all is the pitch.
If the format is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the wicket which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the wicket, leading to numerous dismissals being taken in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, a long history and ongoing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are even more exciting because of the patience made during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Some factors are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual scores were made by world-class players. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the ground, countless fans celebrated and created an atmosphere, producing a festive mood in a bastion of national pride.
There was optimism as the bowlers surged, momentum when the top order scored quickly, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. Previously, a Test there featured a pitch 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 slow Test are extreme ends of the spectrum – neither perfect, yet historical weight can be attached to them.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the captain spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team protected him, restoring the smile to his persona.
New faces performed with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term futures, but a foundation to develop from.
Ultimately, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team assembled on the outfield to begin their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
