Displayed inside a display cabinet on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a neon pink outfit performed in by the entertainer. The performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music in history. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some songs are belting while others are awful.
The key argument is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Above all is the wicket.
If the format is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the established format broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which yielded a victory and the another short match of the contest.
Allowing a thick layer on the pitch, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and ongoing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the time committed in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the situation and responding effectively. The best individual scores were made by recognized batters. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the devotees who have experienced a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, producing a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack surged, advantage when batters fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a strip with the character of a a damp squib.
That contest was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more the standard, yet value can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the memory.
"This isn't the death of the long game at all," commented a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The players delivered for him, restoring the smile to his countenance.
Different players stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a foundation to develop from.
Ultimately, this MCG win is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters left into a stunning sunset, the team gathered on the outfield to begin their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
