Within a glass case on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a neon pink suit performed in by the entertainer. The concert in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a triumph.
You might not enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some songs are belting while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.
If the format is a form of art, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the established format dismantled and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
This is not a justification of the pitch which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the surface, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the ball does all sorts for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the patience devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the situation and adjusting appropriately. The best individual innings were made by world-class players. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the fans who have endured a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people celebrated and sang their songs, producing a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the fielding side dominated, momentum when batters fought back, and rapturous celebration when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has a history with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a a damp squib.
That contest was a slog, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the range – both are not perfect, yet value can be attached to each.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the memory.
"It's not the end of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad responded for him, restoring the smile to his countenance.
New faces performed with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a foundation to use as a platform.
In the end, this triumph is added to other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the field to commence their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, men. You've earned this one.
