Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink ensemble performed in by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a triumph.
It's possible you like the performer. You might think he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a middle ground, acknowledging that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft music or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by external factors.
The weather, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the foundation on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the surface which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are particularly captivating because of the investment devoted during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are embraced more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and responding effectively. The best individual scores were made by acknowledged players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the devotees who have endured a long drought that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, producing a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, momentum when batters responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has form with pitch problems. In the past, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with few wickets and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the range – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be ascribed to each.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"This isn't the end of the format at all," observed a veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these short time have been treated to some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The squad responded for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his persona.
Different players delivered with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term success, but something to build on.
At the very least, this MCG win is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the turf to start their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. You've earned this one.
