In a showcase on the upper level of the MCG rests a electric pink suit performed in by the pop star. His concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to craft art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on conditions.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game broken apart and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
This is not a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and ongoing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting because of the time made in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the situation and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual contributions were made by acknowledged players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands made noise and created an atmosphere, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers surged, momentum when batters scored quickly, and unconditional love when the result was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. Previously, a match there featured a strip with the character of a a damp squib.
That contest was a slog, with few wickets and slow play. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither ideal, yet value can be found in them.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these short time have been treated to some real entertainment. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The players delivered for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
Different players performed with vital performances. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
Ultimately, this triumph is added to other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a stunning sunset, the squad congregated on the field to begin their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, boys. It's well deserved.
