Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a neon pink outfit donned by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of 100,024 fans was considered a major hit.
It's possible you appreciate his music. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some hits are belting while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving a thick layer on the wicket, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the investment committed during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the conditions and adapting effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by acknowledged stars. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the devotees who have suffered years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the stadium, thousands celebrated and chanted, producing a festive mood in a heartland of national pride.
There was belief as the attack dominated, impetus when the top order responded, and pure joy when the victory was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a slog, with limited drama and slow play. This recent match and that previous match are polar opposites of the scale – both are not perfect, yet value can be found in them.
At this stage into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the history books.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been experienced some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The players protected him, restoring the joy to his persona.
Different players stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to build on.
Ultimately, this triumph is added to other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the turf to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, lads. You've earned this one.
