In a display cabinet on the upper level of the MCG sits a electric pink ensemble performed in by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the playing surface.
If the long game is art, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
This is not a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a triumph and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, resulting in a cascade of wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and counting. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are particularly captivating because of the time committed during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the balance was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and adjusting effectively. The top two individual innings were made by acknowledged batters. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the supporters who have suffered years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the stadium, thousands made noise and chanted, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack excelled, impetus when the top order fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a match there featured a wicket with the character of a a non-event.
That match was a slog, with minimal action and slow play. This recent match and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more perfect, yet value can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these two days have been experienced some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The team protected him, bringing back the smile to his face.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this MCG win joins other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the team congregated on the field to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
