Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG rests a neon pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. His show in front of a hundred thousand spectators was considered a triumph.
It's possible you like the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to create literature or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The weather, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the pitch.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the players craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the great game broken apart and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the pitch which resulted in a win and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, causing numerous dismissals being taken in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The format is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball does all sorts for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the investment made elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and responding effectively. The best individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, countless fans waved their flags and created an atmosphere, generating a carnival vibe in a stronghold of national pride.
There was hope as the attack excelled, advantage when players fought back, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has a history with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a wicket with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a slog, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the scale – both are not perfect, yet value can be found in each.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the end of Test cricket at all," observed a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team responded for him, reinstating the joy to his persona.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the team congregated on the outfield to commence their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
