Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink ensemble performed in by the entertainer. His concert in front of a massive crowd of fans was hailed as a triumph.
You might not like Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some hits are belting while others are terrible.
The point being is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by conditions.
The elements, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the long game is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the pitch which produced a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing a thick layer on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are particularly captivating due to the investment devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – assessing the situation and adapting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people waved their flags and sang their songs, producing a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was optimism as the bowlers surged, momentum when players scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the win was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a wicket with all the life of a a non-event.
That fixture was a grind, with few wickets and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more perfect, yet historical weight can be found in both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the end of the format at all," commented a veteran. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The players responded for him, bringing back the smile to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with vital performances. These are small positives, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a foundation to develop from.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory joins other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the outfield to begin their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, men. This victory was hard-fought.
