Within a showcase on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a neon pink ensemble performed in by the entertainer. The concert in front of a hundred thousand fans was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some hits are fantastic while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to create music or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
This is not a defence of the pitch which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing a thick layer on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The format is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Other times, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the time committed elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Certain variables are tolerated more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and adapting accordingly. The best individual contributions were made by world-class players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, producing a festive mood in a stronghold of national pride.
There was hope as the attack dominated, advantage when batters fought back, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a wicket with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with few wickets and slow play. This recent match and that slow Test are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more ideal, yet historical weight can be found in both.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the death of the format at all," observed a former player. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these short time have been experienced some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the captain spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Emerging talents performed with vital performances. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this triumph takes its place among other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters departed into a beautiful night, the team congregated on the field to begin their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, men. It's well deserved.
