Within a showcase on the third floor of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. His concert in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a success.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some hits are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft music or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the wicket.
If the format is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the pitch which produced a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Having excessive grass on the pitch, leading to a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and ongoing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the investment made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by recognized batters. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the supporters who have experienced a long drought that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people celebrated and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a heartland of sport.
There was hope as the bowlers surged, advantage when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the win was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a marathon, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the scale – one is not more the standard, yet value can be ascribed to both.
At this stage into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," commented a past champion. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been treated to some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The players responded for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents stepped up with crucial roles. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to develop from.
In the end, this MCG win joins other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the fans slipped away into a stunning sunset, the players congregated on the field to start their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. You've earned this one.
