In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a neon pink outfit donned by the pop star. The performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was considered a major hit.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are poor.
The point being is that entertainment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create literature or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon conditions.
The weather, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the pitch.
If the long game is art, the strip is the foundation on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
This is not a justification of the surface which resulted in a triumph and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Having 10mm of grass on the surface, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel 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 incorrect.
The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and counting. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Other times, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the investment devoted elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Certain variables are tolerated more easily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the balance was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the top batters were prevented from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and responding appropriately. The two highest individual innings were made by recognized players. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Try telling the supporters who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, fostering a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the fielding side surged, impetus when the top order scored quickly, and pure joy when the result was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. In the past, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a a non-event.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – both are not the standard, yet value can be attached to them.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the end of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the smile to his persona.
Different players delivered with key contributions. These are small positives, not nearly enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to develop from.
At the very least, this triumph is added to other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team congregated on the field to commence their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. It's well deserved.
