Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink suit donned by Robbie Williams. The performance in front of a massive crowd of fans was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some hits are belting while others are terrible.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to produce music or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.
The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and reassembled in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which yielded a triumph and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Leaving a thick layer on the pitch, causing a cascade of wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the time made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the top batters were prevented from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the situation and adjusting effectively. The best individual innings were made by acknowledged stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the devotees who have endured a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the stadium, a sea of people celebrated and sang their songs, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack surged, momentum when the top order responded, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has form with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and slow play. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more ideal, yet value can be attached to each.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"Far from being the end of the format at all," commented a former player. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the captain spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team protected him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his persona.
Different players performed with key contributions. These are small positives, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a foundation to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team gathered on the field to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, lads. It's well deserved.
