In a showcase on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink suit donned by Robbie Williams. The performance in front of a massive crowd of attendees was hailed as a success.
You might not enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are awful.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no one way to create literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon conditions.
The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the pitch.
If the format is a form of art, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which produced a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals tumbling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and ongoing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the time made during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The True Test
Specific conditions are tolerated more easily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were prevented from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and responding accordingly. The top two individual scores were made by world-class players. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, generating a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the bowlers surged, momentum when batters responded, and unconditional love when the victory was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a grind, with few wickets and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are polar opposites of the spectrum – one is not more perfect, yet value can be ascribed to both.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the end of Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The players delivered for him, restoring the smile to his face.
Different players delivered with key contributions. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term futures, but a foundation to develop from.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the squad congregated on the field to commence their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
