Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the MCG is housed a electric pink suit performed in by Robbie Williams. His concert in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a major hit.
You might not like his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by external factors.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.
If the format is a form of art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
This is not a defence of the wicket which resulted in a triumph and the second two-day Test of the series.
Allowing excessive grass on the wicket, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The format is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Other times, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the patience devoted elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are accepted more easily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were unable from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and responding effectively. The two highest individual innings were made by recognized players. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the supporters who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, fostering a carnival vibe in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the bowlers surged, advantage when the top order fought back, and unconditional love when the win was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with difficult wickets. Previously, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That match was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that previous match are extreme ends of the spectrum – neither the standard, yet value can be ascribed to each.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the memory.
"It's not the death of the format at all," observed a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The team protected him, reinstating the smile to his face.
Emerging talents performed with vital performances. These are small positives, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to develop from.
In the end, this Melbourne victory is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans left into a stunning sunset, the team congregated on the outfield to begin their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. You've earned this one.
