Displayed inside a glass case on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink suit worn by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of 100,024 attendees was considered a major hit.
Perhaps you don't like the performer. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to create music or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by the environment.
The elements, the hour of play, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the pitch is the foundation on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and reassembled in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the wicket which resulted in a win and the another short match of the contest.
Leaving a thick layer on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and ongoing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The close matches are particularly captivating because of the time made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are embraced more easily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the top batters were unable from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the conditions and responding appropriately. The best individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have experienced years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the ground, countless fans celebrated and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the attack surged, momentum when players scored quickly, and unconditional love when the victory was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. In the past, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither the standard, yet significance can be ascribed to them.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the demise of the format at all," commented a past champion. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been experienced some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his countenance.
New faces performed with vital performances. These are baby steps, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to build on.
At the very least, this triumph is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans left into a stunning sunset, the squad congregated on the turf to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
