Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the MCG is housed a neon pink ensemble donned by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of a hundred thousand attendees was seen as a success.
You might not enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to produce art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on conditions.
The climate, the time of day, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the wicket.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the pitch, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a rich tapestry, a long history and ongoing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. In contrast, it turns square on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are particularly captivating owing to the time made in other matches.
Adaptation: The True Test
Certain variables are embraced more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The best individual innings were made by world-class players. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans celebrated and sang their songs, fostering a carnival vibe in a stronghold of national pride.
There was belief as the attack dominated, momentum when batters responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has a history with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a wicket with the character of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a marathon, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are polar opposites of the scale – neither the standard, yet historical weight can be found in each.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"It's not the end of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The squad protected him, reinstating the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with key contributions. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but a starting point to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this MCG win joins other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the outfield to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
