In a display cabinet on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a neon pink ensemble worn by Robbie Williams. His show in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon conditions.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the foundation on which the players paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and reassembled in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the surface, causing numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the seamers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are even more exciting owing to the investment committed during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the top batters were unable from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about problem solving – assessing the conditions and responding appropriately. The two highest individual contributions were made by acknowledged stars. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have suffered years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of national pride.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, impetus when players fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with controversial surfaces. In the past, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That match was a marathon, with few wickets and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – both are not 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 death of the long game at all," said a past champion. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Different players performed with crucial roles. These are small positives, not nearly enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters departed into a beautiful night, the team assembled on the turf to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
