Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a neon pink ensemble performed in by Robbie Williams. The show in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some hits are fantastic while others are awful.
The point being is that enjoyment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The weather, the time of day, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the canvas on which the players craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the surface which yielded a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and ongoing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the time devoted during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the situation and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual scores were made by acknowledged stars. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the ground, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, generating a carnival vibe in a bastion of sport.
There was optimism as the attack excelled, impetus when players fought back, and unconditional love when the victory was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That contest was a slog, with few wickets and slow play. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the scale – neither perfect, yet significance can be found in each.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the memory.
"It's not the demise of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the captain spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
New faces stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, boys. It's well deserved.
