In a display cabinet on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink ensemble performed in by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a triumph.
It's possible you appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music known to man. You might take a middle ground, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to produce music or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by conditions.
The elements, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the format is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the surface which produced a triumph and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in 36 wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and counting. At times, as seen at the MCG, the ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the time devoted elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the top batters were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The best individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the fans who have suffered years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the MCG, thousands made noise and sang their songs, generating a carnival vibe in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the bowlers surged, impetus when the top order scored quickly, and unconditional love when the result was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – both are not ideal, yet significance can be attached to them.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the death of the format at all," observed a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The team delivered for him, restoring the joy to his persona.
Different players stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a starting point to develop from.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a stunning sunset, the team assembled on the turf to commence their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
