In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a vibrant pink outfit donned by the pop star. The show in front of a hundred thousand spectators was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some songs are belting while others are awful.
The point being is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no one way to produce literature or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.
The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game broken apart and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the wicket, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The close matches are all the more thrilling because of the patience committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are embraced more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and adapting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the devotees who have endured a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, thousands made noise and created an atmosphere, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers surged, impetus when the top order fought back, and unconditional love when the victory was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.
That fixture was a grind, with minimal action and slow play. The latest encounter and that previous match are polar opposites of the spectrum – both are not ideal, yet significance can be attached to them.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the memory.
"This isn't the death of the format at all," commented a former player. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been given some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his face.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term futures, but a starting point to develop from.
At the very least, this MCG win joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the outfield to begin their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, boys. You've earned this one.
