Displayed inside a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a electric pink suit donned by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a success.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The point being is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the surface which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the series.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals being taken in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and counting. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are particularly captivating due to the investment devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the conditions and adjusting effectively. The top two individual innings were made by acknowledged players. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, countless fans waved their flags and sang their songs, producing a party atmosphere in a heartland of sport.
There was hope as the bowlers dominated, momentum when the top order responded, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. In the past, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with minimal action and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet value can be ascribed to them.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of the format at all," commented a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The squad delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his face.
New faces stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a foundation to develop from.
Ultimately, this MCG win is added to other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters left into a stunning sunset, the players congregated on the turf to begin their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, men. You've earned this one.
