Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink ensemble performed in by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of a hundred thousand fans was seen as a triumph.
You might not enjoy Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a middle ground, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are poor.
The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the strip is the foundation on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and reassembled in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which yielded a triumph and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The format is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball does all sorts for the fast men. In contrast, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting owing to the investment devoted during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the best players were unable from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and adjusting effectively. The two highest individual scores were made by acknowledged stars. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack excelled, momentum when batters fought back, and unconditional love when the result was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a match there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – both are not perfect, yet historical weight can be ascribed to both.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad responded for him, bringing back the smile to his countenance.
New faces performed with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a foundation to develop from.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad gathered on the turf to start their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
