In a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink suit donned by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of 100,024 fans was seen as a triumph.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, admitting that some songs are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to create literature or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon the environment.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the wicket.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the blank slate on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the wicket which yielded a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and still growing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling because of the patience made during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are tolerated more readily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the contest was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were prevented from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the situation and adapting effectively. The best individual innings were made by recognized players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the ground, countless fans made noise and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack dominated, momentum when players fought back, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. In the past, a match there featured a strip with the character of a a non-event.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are polar opposites of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet value can be found in both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the end of Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some genuine drama. A unique show."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The players protected him, restoring the joy to his face.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but a foundation to use as a platform.
In the end, this triumph joins other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd left into a stunning sunset, the players congregated on the field to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, men. This victory was hard-fought.
