Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the MCG sits a vibrant pink ensemble performed in by the entertainer. His show in front of a hundred thousand fans was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, acknowledging that some hits are belting while others are awful.
The point being is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft art or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by conditions.
The weather, the hour of play, the ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the players craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which resulted in a win and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals being taken in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The format is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the seamers. Other times, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the time made in other matches.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have experienced years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the stadium, a sea of people celebrated and sang their songs, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers excelled, advantage when players fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with the character of a a damp squib.
That match was a grind, with few wickets and slow play. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – both are not the standard, yet value can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the history books.
"Far from being the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The players protected him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
Different players delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this triumph joins other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the squad assembled on the field to begin their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, men. This victory was hard-fought.
