Displayed inside a glass case on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink suit donned by the entertainer. The performance in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a major hit.
You might not appreciate Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The point being is that enjoyment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no one way to create literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on the environment.
The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the format is a form of art, the pitch is the foundation on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
This is not a defence of the pitch which produced a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the surface, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are particularly captivating because of the investment devoted during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were prevented from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class stars. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the supporters who have experienced a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, generating a carnival vibe in a stronghold of sport.
There was optimism as the bowlers dominated, momentum when the top order scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has form with difficult wickets. In the past, a game there featured a strip with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a slog, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – one is not more the standard, yet significance can be ascribed to them.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of the format at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these short time have been treated to some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The players responded for him, reinstating the smile to his countenance.
New faces performed with vital performances. These are small positives, not nearly enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players assembled on the outfield to begin their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, boys. You've earned this one.
