Within a glass case on the third floor of the MCG rests a neon pink suit donned by the entertainer. His show in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. You might think he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to craft art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game taken to pieces and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the wicket, leading to numerous dismissals tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling because of the time devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Some factors are embraced more freely than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and responding appropriately. The top two individual contributions were made by recognized players. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have endured a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the stadium, a sea of people waved their flags and created an atmosphere, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the attack dominated, impetus when batters scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the win was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. In the past, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That fixture was a marathon, with few wickets and slow play. This recent match and that slow Test are polar opposites of the spectrum – both are not perfect, yet historical weight can be ascribed to both.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been experienced some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team responded for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his persona.
New faces stepped up with crucial roles. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but something to build on.
In the end, this MCG win joins other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team assembled on the field to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
