In a display cabinet on the third floor of the MCG rests a neon pink ensemble donned by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a success.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some songs are belting while others are poor.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the wicket.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the canvas on which the cricketers create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the wicket which resulted in a triumph and the second two-day Test of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the surface, leading to numerous dismissals falling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Other times, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the patience devoted elsewhere.
Adaptation: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and adjusting effectively. The top two individual innings were made by acknowledged players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the devotees who have suffered years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the ground, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of sport.
There was optimism as the attack surged, momentum when the top order fought back, and unconditional love when the win was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with difficult wickets. In the past, a Test there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That contest was a slog, with limited drama and slow play. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more the standard, yet value can be attached to each.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The players responded for him, restoring the joy to his face.
New faces stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this triumph takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the squad assembled on the field to start their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, boys. You've earned this one.
