Displayed inside a showcase on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a vibrant pink suit performed in by Robbie Williams. The show in front of a massive crowd of attendees was hailed as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no one way to produce music or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on external factors.
The elements, the time of day, the red ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the surface which resulted in a victory and the another short match of the series.
Having a thick layer on the surface, causing numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The long game is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting because of the patience committed in other matches.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from playing their natural game.
The format is about adapting to challenges – assessing the conditions and responding appropriately. The top two individual contributions were made by recognized stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have suffered years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands waved their flags and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was optimism as the fielding side excelled, momentum when batters responded, and pure joy when the win was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a match there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – neither ideal, yet value can be ascribed to each.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the death of the format at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The players protected him, restoring the smile to his face.
Different players stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a starting point to develop from.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the squad assembled on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
