Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the MCG rests a electric pink suit worn by Robbie Williams. His concert in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a success.
You might not like his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to produce art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the pitch.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the athletes create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the established format broken apart and reconstructed in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the surface which yielded a victory and the another short match of the contest.
Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, resulting in numerous dismissals tumbling in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The format is a rich tapestry, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are even more exciting because of the patience devoted in other matches.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Specific conditions are embraced more freely than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from playing their natural game.
The format is about problem solving – reading the conditions and responding appropriately. The two highest individual contributions were made by acknowledged players. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the supporters who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, a sea of people made noise and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack surged, impetus when batters fought back, and pure joy when the victory was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a non-event.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – neither the standard, yet historical weight can be found in each.
At this stage into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the memory.
"It's not the death of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these short time have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team delivered for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
Different players performed with key contributions. These are small positives, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to develop from.
In the end, this triumph joins other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters departed into a beautiful night, the players assembled on the outfield to commence their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, lads. You've earned this one.