Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a vibrant pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a success.
You might not enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, conceding that some hits are belting while others are poor.
The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to create art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by the environment.
The climate, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.
If the format is a form of art, the pitch is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
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 surface, causing 36 wickets falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the time devoted during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were prevented from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – reading the wicket and adapting effectively. The best individual contributions were made by recognized batters. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands made noise and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack surged, impetus when players fought back, and unconditional love when the victory was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a game there featured a strip with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the spectrum – neither ideal, yet value can be found in both.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the memory.
"Far from being the death of the format at all," said a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The players responded for him, bringing back the joy to his countenance.
Different players stepped up with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term success, but a foundation to develop from.
In the end, this MCG win joins other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters departed into a stunning sunset, the team congregated on the turf to begin their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, men. You've earned this one.
