Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink ensemble performed in by Robbie Williams. The show in front of a massive crowd of spectators was hailed as a major hit.
You might not enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The point being is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no one way to craft art 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 contest is so dictated by conditions.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reassembled in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the pitch which resulted in a triumph and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Having 10mm of grass on the surface, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting owing to the time made elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more freely than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the top batters were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the situation and adapting appropriately. The best individual scores were made by world-class stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have experienced a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, thousands waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack surged, advantage when the top order fought back, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither the standard, yet value can be found in them.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the demise of the long game at all," said a former player. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been treated to some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, reinstating the smile to his countenance.
New faces delivered with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a foundation to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players congregated on the field to commence their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
