Within a glass case on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. The show in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. You might think he is the finest offering to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to produce music or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by conditions.
The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the pitch which yielded a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving a thick layer on the surface, leading to 36 wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting because of the investment devoted during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Certain variables are tolerated more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the situation and responding appropriately. The top two individual innings were made by recognized batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the MCG, thousands waved their flags and chanted, producing a festive mood in a stronghold of national pride.
There was optimism as the attack surged, impetus when players fought back, and unconditional love when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. Previously, a match there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that slow Test are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be attached to both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," said a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The team protected him, restoring the joy to his persona.
New faces performed with crucial roles. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans departed into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, boys. It's well deserved.
