Within a showcase on the upper level of the MCG sits a electric pink suit worn by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of a massive crowd of fans was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to craft art or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by external factors.
The weather, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Above all is the pitch.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the players create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the established format broken apart and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
This is not a endorsement of the wicket which produced a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, causing 36 wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the investment committed elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Certain variables are accepted more readily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The best individual contributions were made by acknowledged stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the stadium, thousands celebrated and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of sport.
There was belief as the attack surged, advantage when players scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a match there featured a wicket with the character of a a damp squib.
That match was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – neither perfect, yet significance can be found in each.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The squad delivered for him, restoring the joy to his face.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a foundation to use as a platform.
In the end, this triumph is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the squad gathered on the outfield to commence their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, boys. It's well deserved.
