Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a neon pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of a massive crowd of fans was considered a triumph.
You might not like Robbie Williams. You might think he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to create literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the established format dismantled and reassembled in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the pitch which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting because of the investment devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the balance was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
The format is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the conditions and adjusting appropriately. The best individual scores were made by world-class players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the stadium, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a party atmosphere in a stronghold of national pride.
There was hope as the bowlers excelled, momentum when batters fought back, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a match there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a non-event.
That match was a grind, with few wickets and slow play. The two-day game and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – one is not more ideal, yet historical weight can be found in both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"It's not the end of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been treated to some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
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, restoring the joy to his countenance.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the turf to commence their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, men. This victory was hard-fought.