In a glass case on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a vibrant pink suit donned by Robbie Williams. His show in front of a hundred thousand fans was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are poor.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to produce literature or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by conditions.
The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is a form of art, the pitch is the foundation on which the players create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the wicket which yielded a triumph and the another short match of the series.
Having excessive grass on the surface, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and ongoing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are particularly captivating owing to the patience committed elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Certain variables are embraced more readily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and adapting accordingly. The top two individual contributions were made by recognized stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans celebrated and created an atmosphere, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was optimism as the fielding side dominated, momentum when the top order scored quickly, and pure joy when the win was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. In the past, a Test there featured a pitch with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with few wickets and slow play. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the scale – both are not the standard, yet historical weight can be attached to each.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the history books.
"It's not the end of the long game at all," said a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his face.
New faces stepped up with vital performances. These are small positives, not nearly enough to secure long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this MCG win joins other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the turf to start their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, lads. It's well deserved.
