Within a glass case on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink ensemble donned by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of a hundred thousand attendees was hailed as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some hits are excellent while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no one way to create music or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the session, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
This is not a defence of the wicket which produced a triumph and the another short match of the contest.
Leaving a thick layer on the pitch, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. On occasion, 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 explodes.
The thrillers are even more exciting because of the investment devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Certain variables are accepted more freely than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about problem solving – reading the conditions and adapting effectively. The top two individual innings were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the fans who have experienced years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the ground, a sea of people celebrated and sang their songs, generating a party atmosphere in a stronghold of national pride.
There was belief as the attack excelled, advantage when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That match was a slog, with minimal action and slow play. This recent match and that slow Test are polar opposites of the spectrum – neither the standard, yet historical weight can be attached to them.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the memory.
"It's not the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a veteran. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The players responded for him, bringing back the joy to his face.
Different players performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this MCG win joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the players congregated on the turf to start their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, men. This victory was hard-fought.
