Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a vibrant pink suit worn by Robbie Williams. The show in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a major hit.
Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. You might think he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some hits are excellent while others are poor.
The point being is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to produce art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.
The elements, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the wicket.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the foundation on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which produced a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Allowing excessive grass on the wicket, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and counting. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Other times, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the investment devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Certain variables are tolerated more freely than others.
The contention in during the match was that the contest was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
The format is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the supporters who have experienced a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, producing a carnival vibe in a stronghold of national pride.
There was hope as the fielding side dominated, advantage when players responded, and unconditional love when the result was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – neither ideal, yet historical weight can be found in both.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the memory.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been experienced some real entertainment. A unique show."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The squad responded for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but a foundation to develop from.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad congregated on the turf to begin their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, men. This victory was hard-fought.
