Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG rests a neon pink suit performed in by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a major hit.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, admitting that some songs are excellent while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create art or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon the environment.
The weather, the time of day, the ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the pitch.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
This is not a justification of the wicket which resulted in a triumph and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The format is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the patience committed in other matches.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the conditions and adapting appropriately. The best individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the fans who have experienced years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the MCG, countless fans waved their flags and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of national pride.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, momentum when the top order fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. Previously, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. This recent match and that slow Test are extreme ends of the spectrum – neither perfect, yet historical weight can be found in them.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been experienced some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The squad protected him, restoring the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Emerging talents stepped up with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this MCG win joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team gathered on the field to begin their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, lads. This victory was hard-fought.