Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a vibrant pink suit donned by Robbie Williams. The show in front of a hundred thousand attendees was hailed as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some hits are fantastic while others are poor.
The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the wicket.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the foundation on which the players craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the wicket which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The long game is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting due to the patience made in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Some factors are accepted more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and adjusting effectively. The top two individual innings were made by recognized batters. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have suffered 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the stadium, countless fans waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a festive mood in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the bowlers surged, impetus when players responded, and pure joy when the win was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more perfect, yet value can be ascribed to each.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the history books.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," commented a past champion. "The people who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The squad responded for him, reinstating the smile to his countenance.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are small positives, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the field to start their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, lads. It's well deserved.
