Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink ensemble performed in by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a success.
You might not appreciate the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are poor.
The point being is that entertainment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the wicket.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the canvas on which the players create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format broken apart and reassembled in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which produced a triumph and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Having excessive grass on the pitch, leading to a cascade of wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the investment committed elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are accepted more freely than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and adjusting appropriately. The best individual scores were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the supporters who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack excelled, advantage when batters scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the victory was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with controversial surfaces. Previously, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a grind, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that slow Test are polar opposites of the spectrum – neither the standard, yet significance can be ascribed to them.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The players delivered for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his persona.
Different players performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to ensure long-term stability, but a foundation to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph is added to other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a stunning sunset, the players gathered on the turf to begin their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, lads. You've earned this one.
