In a glass case on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a vibrant pink outfit worn by Robbie Williams. The performance in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to produce music or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the time of day, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the playing surface.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the canvas on which the players create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the surface which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the time committed elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from showcasing their talents.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and adjusting effectively. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the ground, countless fans celebrated and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of sport.
There was optimism as the fielding side excelled, advantage when batters fought back, and unconditional love when the win was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a slog, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be ascribed to each.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team responded for him, bringing back the joy to his face.
New faces delivered with key contributions. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the outfield to commence their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. You've earned this one.
