Displayed inside a showcase on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a neon pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. His show in front of a massive crowd of attendees was hailed as a major hit.
You might not enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some hits are excellent while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no one way to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the format is a form of art, the pitch is the foundation on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and reassembled in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the surface which resulted in a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in 36 wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating due to the investment made in other matches.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are tolerated more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about problem solving – reading the situation and adapting appropriately. The two highest individual innings were made by acknowledged players. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the stadium, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was belief as the bowlers surged, advantage when batters scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the victory was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a non-event.
That match was a slog, with few wickets and slow play. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither the standard, yet significance can be attached to them.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the death of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been given some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The squad delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his countenance.
New faces stepped up with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to build on.
In the end, this triumph takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. You've earned this one.
