Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a vibrant pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. His show in front of a massive crowd of fans was considered a triumph.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a middle ground, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are poor.
The point being is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce music or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon external factors.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the established format broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the surface which resulted in a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, leading to a cascade of wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The format is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the patience devoted during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are embraced more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and adapting effectively. The best individual innings were made by world-class stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack excelled, advantage when players scored quickly, and pure joy when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the spectrum – both are not perfect, yet significance can be ascribed to both.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"It's not the end of the format at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The players responded for him, restoring the joy to his face.
Different players stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to secure long-term stability, but something to develop from.
Ultimately, this MCG win is added to other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans departed into a beautiful night, the team gathered on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, boys. It's well deserved.