Within a glass case on the upper level of the MCG rests a neon pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. His show in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a triumph.
You might not enjoy his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, acknowledging that some hits are belting while others are poor.
The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no one way to craft literature or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the wicket.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which yielded a victory and the another short match of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, causing 36 wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and ongoing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. Other times, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The close matches are particularly captivating owing to the investment committed elsewhere.
Adaptation: The True Test
Specific conditions are embraced more freely than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were hindered from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the wicket and responding accordingly. The best individual scores were made by recognized stars. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the MCG, countless fans celebrated and created an atmosphere, generating a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the attack surged, impetus when players scored quickly, and pure joy when the win was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a a damp squib.
That match was a grind, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are polar opposites of the scale – neither the standard, yet value can be found in them.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the history books.
"It's not the end of the format at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The players delivered for him, reinstating the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with key contributions. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term stability, but a starting point to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph is added to other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players congregated on the outfield to commence their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.