Displayed inside a glass case on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a vibrant pink outfit donned by the entertainer. His performance in front of a massive crowd of fans was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are belting while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create music or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which produced a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving excessive grass on the surface, leading to a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: 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 mistaken.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the time devoted in other matches.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were unable from showcasing their talents.
The format is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the conditions and adapting appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class stars. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the supporters who have experienced 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans waved their flags and sang their songs, generating a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the fielding side excelled, advantage when the top order scored quickly, and pure joy when the result was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that slow Test are polar opposites of the spectrum – neither perfect, yet historical weight can be ascribed to them.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"It's not the death of the long game at all," observed a former player. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been treated to some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The players responded for him, reinstating the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to ensure long-term success, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the outfield to begin their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, lads. It's well deserved.
