Displayed inside a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink suit performed in by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a success.
You might not enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to produce literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on conditions.
The elements, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the pitch which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Having excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are particularly captivating because of the patience committed in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are tolerated more easily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the situation and adjusting appropriately. The best individual scores were made by world-class batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have suffered a long drought that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people waved their flags and sang their songs, generating a carnival vibe in a bastion of sport.
There was optimism as the fielding side surged, momentum when batters responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more perfect, yet value can be ascribed to both.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the end of the long game at all," commented a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been treated to some real entertainment. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The players responded for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his face.
Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the turf to begin their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, lads. It's well deserved.
