Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. The show in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a success.
You might not enjoy Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some hits are belting while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to produce literature or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by conditions.
The climate, the time of day, the red ball – the list is endless. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which resulted in a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The format is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. Other times, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the time devoted in other matches.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Some factors are embraced more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the top batters were unable from showcasing their talents.
The format is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and adapting appropriately. The top two individual innings were made by world-class players. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the fans who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans celebrated and created an atmosphere, fostering a carnival vibe in a bastion of national pride.
There was optimism as the fielding side dominated, momentum when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with controversial surfaces. In the past, a Test there featured a strip with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither ideal, yet historical weight can be ascribed to each.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the history books.
"It's not the end of the long game at all," said a former player. "The people who have been privileged to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad delivered for him, bringing back the joy to his face.
New faces performed with crucial roles. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad assembled on the field to begin their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
