Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink ensemble donned by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of 100,024 attendees was considered a success.
You might not appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to craft art or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the foundation on which the athletes create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport taken to pieces and stuck back together in abstract form.
This is not a justification of the pitch which yielded a triumph and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Having a thick layer on the wicket, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are particularly captivating due to the investment committed during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are embraced more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and responding effectively. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, thousands celebrated and sang their songs, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers excelled, momentum when the top order scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the win was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a pitch with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a slog, with limited drama and slow play. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the spectrum – both are not perfect, yet value can be found in them.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the history books.
"Far from being the end of the format at all," commented a past champion. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been experienced some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this match, the captain spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players responded for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd left into a stunning sunset, the team congregated on the outfield to begin their own festivities.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
