Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink suit performed in by the entertainer. His show in front of a massive crowd of spectators was considered a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a middle ground, conceding that some hits are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on the environment.
The elements, the session, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the format is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the pitch which produced a win and the another short match of the contest.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and ongoing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are even more exciting because of the patience made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – reading the situation and adjusting effectively. The top two individual scores were made by recognized batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have endured years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people waved their flags and sang their songs, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the fielding side excelled, momentum when batters responded, and pure joy when the result was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a wicket with the character of a a non-event.
That fixture was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the scale – neither the standard, yet value can be attached to each.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"It's not the demise of the format at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been given some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with vital performances. These are small positives, not nearly enough to secure long-term stability, but something to develop from.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the field to commence their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
