Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink ensemble donned by the pop star. His concert in front of a hundred thousand fans was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some hits are excellent while others are poor.
The point being is that amusement can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to produce art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the long game is art, the pitch is the canvas on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and reassembled in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the surface which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, resulting in 36 wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the time committed elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are embraced more easily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were hindered from playing their natural game.
The format is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by recognized players. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the supporters who have experienced years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, a sea of people waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of national pride.
There was hope as the fielding side dominated, momentum when batters responded, and pure joy when the win was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with controversial surfaces. In the past, a game there featured a wicket with all the life of a a non-event.
That match was a slog, with few wickets and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the spectrum – neither ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to each.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the memory.
"Far from being the death of the format at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team responded for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to ensure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players congregated on the outfield to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
