Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a neon pink suit donned by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. You might think he is the ultimate present to music in history. Or you could adopt a middle ground, admitting that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the wicket.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
This is not a justification of the surface which produced a triumph and the second two-day Test of the series.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the surface, causing numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Other times, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating because of the patience devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Some factors are tolerated more easily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were unable from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – assessing the wicket and responding appropriately. The two highest individual innings were made by recognized batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the fans who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans waved their flags and created an atmosphere, fostering a festive mood in a heartland of national pride.
There was optimism as the fielding side surged, impetus when batters fought back, and pure joy when the win was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has form with pitch problems. In the past, a match there featured a wicket with the character of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with few wickets and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – neither ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to each.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the death of the format at all," observed a veteran. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been treated to some genuine drama. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad responded for him, restoring the joy to his face.
Emerging talents stepped up with key contributions. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but a starting point to build on.
At the very least, this triumph joins other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd departed into a stunning sunset, the team congregated on the turf to start their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
