In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a vibrant pink suit donned by the pop star. His performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was considered a major hit.
You might not appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, conceding that some songs are belting while others are poor.
The point being is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on external factors.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport dismantled and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
This is not a defence of the surface which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, causing 36 wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and ongoing. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the time committed elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the wicket and adapting effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by recognized players. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the supporters who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, producing a carnival vibe in a heartland of sport.
There was hope as the fielding side excelled, advantage when the top order scored quickly, and unconditional love when the result was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a slog, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are polar opposites of the scale – neither ideal, yet value can be ascribed to them.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "Fans who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team responded for him, restoring the smile to his persona.
Emerging talents stepped up with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term futures, but a starting point to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team gathered on the outfield to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, lads. You've earned this one.
