Displayed inside a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a neon pink outfit performed in by the entertainer. His concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was seen as a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some songs are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to create music or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon the environment.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the wicket.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the players paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the wicket which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Allowing excessive grass on the wicket, causing a cascade of wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are particularly captivating owing to the time committed elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are tolerated more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the conditions and responding accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was hope as the bowlers surged, momentum when the top order fought back, and rapturous celebration when the win was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. In the past, a Test there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with few wickets and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet value can be ascribed to both.
At this stage into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team delivered for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but a foundation to develop from.
At the very least, this MCG win joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans departed into a beautiful night, the players congregated on the field to start their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
