In a showcase on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a vibrant pink ensemble performed in by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of 100,024 fans was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music in history. You might take a middle ground, conceding that some hits are excellent while others are poor.
The key argument is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to create literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by conditions.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the wicket.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which produced a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the surface, causing 36 wickets falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and ongoing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the seamers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the patience devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Some factors are tolerated more freely than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were unable from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and responding accordingly. The two highest individual innings were made by world-class players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans made noise and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a heartland of sport.
There was optimism as the bowlers excelled, impetus when players fought back, and pure joy when the result was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – both are not ideal, yet historical weight can be attached to each.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some real entertainment. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The team responded for him, restoring the joy to his persona.
New faces performed with key contributions. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term futures, but a foundation to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this MCG win joins other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters departed into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, men. You've earned this one.
