Displayed inside a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink suit worn by Robbie Williams. His concert in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't appreciate the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a middle ground, admitting that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the red ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.
If the long game is a form of art, the pitch is the foundation on which the athletes create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
This is not a justification of the surface which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the surface, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. Sometimes, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The close matches are even more exciting owing to the investment made elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Specific conditions are embraced more freely than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the top batters were unable from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the wicket and adjusting effectively. The two highest individual innings were made by recognized stars. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the devotees who have experienced years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the MCG, thousands celebrated and chanted, producing a festive mood in a heartland of national pride.
There was belief as the fielding side dominated, impetus when batters scored quickly, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a slog, with few wickets and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the range – one is not more the standard, yet historical weight can be ascribed to them.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," observed a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this Test, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The team protected him, reinstating the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents performed with vital performances. These are small positives, certainly not enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the outfield to begin their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
