In a display cabinet on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a neon pink outfit donned by the entertainer. The show in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a triumph.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are excellent while others are terrible.
The point being is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft music or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the foundation on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reassembled in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the surface which produced a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving a thick layer on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Other times, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the patience made during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are tolerated more freely than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the attack. That the top batters were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the situation and adjusting effectively. The best individual innings were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the devotees who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, countless fans waved their flags and created an atmosphere, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was hope as the fielding side excelled, advantage when players scored quickly, and pure joy when the victory was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – one is not more the standard, yet value can be attached to them.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the death of the format at all," observed a past champion. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his persona.
Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are small positives, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but a foundation to use as a platform.
In the end, this MCG win takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters left into a stunning sunset, the squad assembled on the field to start their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. You've earned this one.
