Displayed inside a glass case on the third floor of the MCG sits a vibrant pink ensemble donned by the pop star. His performance in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some hits are belting while others are poor.
The point being is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the wicket.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the great game broken apart and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the surface which yielded a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Having 10mm of grass on the pitch, leading to a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Other times, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the investment devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the wicket and responding accordingly. The top two individual innings were made by world-class players. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have suffered a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, producing a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the fielding side dominated, momentum when the top order scored quickly, and pure joy when the victory was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has a history with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a a non-event.
That fixture was a grind, with few wickets and slow play. The latest encounter and that slow Test are extreme ends of the spectrum – both are not ideal, yet value can be ascribed to both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the memory.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team protected him, restoring the positive demeanor to his persona.
Emerging talents stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a starting point to use as a platform.
At the very least, this MCG win is added to other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd departed into a stunning sunset, the players congregated on the turf to commence their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, boys. It's well deserved.
