Displayed inside a glass case on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink outfit performed in by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a major hit.
You might not appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some hits are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on external factors.
The elements, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the pitch.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the foundation on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport dismantled and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which yielded a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Having a thick layer on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and counting. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are particularly captivating because of the time committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and responding effectively. The top two individual innings were made by acknowledged stars. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have endured 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans made noise and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers surged, impetus when the top order fought back, and unconditional love when the result was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has form with difficult wickets. In the past, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a marathon, with limited drama and slow play. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the scale – neither ideal, yet value can be found in both.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his face.
Different players stepped up with key contributions. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the squad gathered on the field to begin their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, men. You've earned this one.
