Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a neon pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. His concert in front of a massive crowd of attendees was hailed as a triumph.
You might not enjoy Robbie Williams. You might think he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a middle ground, admitting that some hits are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft music or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the time of day, the ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the wicket.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the foundation on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the established format broken apart and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which produced a triumph and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating owing to the time committed elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more easily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the conditions and responding accordingly. The two highest individual innings were made by acknowledged players. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the stadium, countless fans made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a carnival vibe in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the fielding side excelled, advantage when batters responded, and unconditional love when the victory was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with pitch problems. In the past, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – both are not perfect, yet historical weight can be found in both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the death of Test cricket at all," observed a past champion. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The squad protected him, reinstating the joy to his face.
New faces performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players congregated on the turf to begin their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. You've earned this one.
