In a display cabinet on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink outfit performed in by Robbie Williams. The show in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a triumph.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.
The point being is that amusement can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no one way to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Above all is the wicket.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the players create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Leaving a thick layer on the wicket, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and counting. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the time devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the wicket and responding accordingly. The best individual innings were made by recognized players. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have experienced a long drought that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the attack excelled, advantage when the top order scored quickly, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a match there featured a pitch with all the life of a a non-event.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – one is not more the standard, yet value can be attached to each.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of the long game at all," commented a veteran. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The players responded for him, bringing back the smile to his persona.
New faces performed with crucial roles. These are small positives, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a foundation to build on.
Ultimately, this triumph is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players assembled on the outfield to commence their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, men. It's well deserved.
