Within a glass case on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was considered a triumph.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. You might think he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a balanced view, admitting that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create art or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon conditions.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the established format dismantled and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which resulted in a victory and the another short match of the contest.
Leaving a thick layer on the wicket, causing 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. In contrast, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the time made elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about problem solving – reading the conditions and adjusting appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans made noise and chanted, generating a festive mood in a heartland of national pride.
There was belief as the attack surged, advantage when batters fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – both are not perfect, yet value can be attached to them.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, restoring the smile to his countenance.
Different players stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a foundation to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the field to start their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
