Within a glass case on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of a hundred thousand attendees was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't like his music. You might think he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The point being is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no one way to produce literature or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by conditions.
The elements, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Above all is the wicket.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the foundation on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport dismantled and reassembled in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Leaving a thick layer on the wicket, leading to numerous dismissals tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and counting. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the patience devoted elsewhere.
Adaptation: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more easily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the conditions and adapting appropriately. The top two individual contributions were made by recognized stars. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have suffered a long drought that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the ground, a sea of people made noise and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a heartland of sport.
There was belief as the fielding side surged, impetus when the top order fought back, and rapturous celebration when the win was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with pitch problems. In the past, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That match was a slog, with minimal action and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the spectrum – both are not ideal, yet value can be attached to both.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the memory.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The players delivered for him, bringing back the joy to his face.
Emerging talents performed with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to build on.
In the end, this triumph is added to other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team assembled on the outfield to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
