Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink ensemble worn by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a success.
It's possible you appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, acknowledging that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.
The point being is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to produce music or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the foundation on which the athletes create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the established format dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the pitch which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Having excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the patience committed elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Certain variables are embraced more freely than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the situation and responding effectively. The best individual innings were made by world-class stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the MCG, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, producing a carnival vibe in a heartland of sport.
There was optimism as the bowlers surged, advantage when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the win was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has a history with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a strip with the character of a a non-event.
That match was a marathon, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither perfect, yet significance can be found in them.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The squad protected him, restoring the smile to his face.
New faces stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory is added to other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a stunning sunset, the squad congregated on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
