Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the MCG rests a neon pink outfit donned by the entertainer. His concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a major hit.
You might not appreciate Robbie Williams. You might think he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, admitting that some hits are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon external factors.
The elements, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the wicket.
If the format is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the players create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the pitch which resulted in a win and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are even more exciting due to the time made in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more readily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – reading the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The best individual contributions were made by recognized batters. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the fans who have experienced years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands waved their flags and chanted, fostering a carnival vibe in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers dominated, advantage when players fought back, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with pitch problems. In the past, a game there featured a strip with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – both are not the standard, yet value can be attached to each.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the memory.
"Far from being the demise of Test cricket at all," observed a former player. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players protected him, restoring the positive demeanor to his countenance.
New faces stepped up with key contributions. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the outfield to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
