Within a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a electric pink outfit performed in by the entertainer. His performance in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no one way to produce art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the format is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the players craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the established format broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which yielded a triumph and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing a thick layer on the surface, causing 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The format is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the patience devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
The format is about problem solving – interpreting the conditions and adjusting accordingly. The top two individual scores were made by world-class batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the fans who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands celebrated and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a heartland of sport.
There was optimism as the bowlers dominated, momentum when the top order fought back, and unconditional love when the result was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. In the past, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – both are not the standard, yet value can be ascribed to both.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been treated to some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The squad responded for him, bringing back the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents delivered with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to secure long-term stability, but a starting point to build on.
Ultimately, this triumph takes its place among other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the team gathered on the turf to start their own festivities.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
