Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a neon pink suit donned by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. Or you could adopt a middle ground, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft art or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which produced a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Allowing a thick layer on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals being taken in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and still growing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the patience made in other matches.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Certain variables are tolerated more readily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were unable from showcasing their talents.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the situation and responding accordingly. The best individual innings were made by acknowledged players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the fielding side surged, impetus when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the win was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has a history with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a grind, with minimal action and slow play. The latest encounter and that slow Test are polar opposites of the scale – both are not the standard, yet significance can be ascribed to them.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the memory.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been treated to some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the captain spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The team delivered for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term stability, but a foundation to develop from.
In the end, this triumph takes its place among other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad gathered on the field to begin their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, men. You've earned this one.
