Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the MCG rests a electric pink suit performed in by Robbie Williams. His show in front of a massive crowd of fans was seen as a success.
You might not like the performer. You might think he is the greatest gift to music in history. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some songs are belting while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create literature or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on the environment.
The elements, the time of day, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the pitch.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game broken apart and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the wicket which produced a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing a thick layer on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and ongoing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating because of the time devoted elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Some factors are embraced more easily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – reading the wicket and responding accordingly. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class players. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the supporters who have experienced years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the stadium, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack excelled, momentum when batters responded, and pure joy when the victory was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. In the past, a game there featured a strip with all the life of a a non-event.
That fixture was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither perfect, yet value can be found in each.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the memory.
"It's not the death of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The squad protected him, reinstating the smile to his face.
Different players delivered with crucial roles. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a foundation to build on.
In the end, this MCG win joins other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team assembled on the turf to begin their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
