Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a vibrant pink outfit worn by Robbie Williams. His show in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a triumph.
You might not enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no one way to produce music or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the time of day, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If the format is a form of art, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
This is not a defence of the wicket which produced a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Having a thick layer on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are even more exciting due to the patience devoted in other matches.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from showcasing their talents.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the conditions and responding effectively. The best individual innings were made by recognized players. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
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 stadium, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack dominated, impetus when batters responded, and rapturous celebration when the win was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has a history with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that slow Test are extreme ends of the range – one is not more ideal, yet value can be attached to them.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the death of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "The people who have been privileged to see these two days have been experienced some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this match, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his persona.
Different players performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the outfield to begin their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, men. This victory was hard-fought.
