In a glass case on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a electric pink outfit performed in by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a triumph.
You might not enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, admitting that some hits are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by conditions.
The elements, the time of day, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the players craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reassembled in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the wicket which yielded a win and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the wicket, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The format is a varied portfolio, a long history and ongoing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating due to the investment made in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the contest was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the wicket and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, fostering a party atmosphere in a stronghold of national pride.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, advantage when the top order responded, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with controversial surfaces. Previously, a match there featured a pitch with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and interminable tedium. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – both are not the standard, 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 history books.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The players protected him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this triumph is added to other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd slipped away into a stunning sunset, the team congregated on the field to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. You've earned this one.
