Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a electric pink ensemble donned by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of a massive crowd of attendees was hailed as a major hit.
You might not appreciate his music. You might think he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a middle ground, acknowledging that some tracks are excellent while others are poor.
The point being is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. 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 factors are countless. Above all is the pitch.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which yielded a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and ongoing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the seamers. In contrast, it turns square on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are even more exciting owing to the time made elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and adapting appropriately. The best individual innings were made by world-class batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the stadium, a sea of people waved their flags and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a heartland of national pride.
There was optimism as the fielding side excelled, impetus when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has form with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a wicket with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a grind, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – both are not perfect, yet value can be ascribed to each.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," observed a former player. "Fans who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been experienced some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team responded for him, restoring the joy to his face.
Emerging talents stepped up with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a foundation to use as a platform.
At the very least, this triumph takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a stunning sunset, the squad congregated on the field to commence their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, boys. You've earned this one.
