Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. His performance in front of a massive crowd of spectators was hailed as a major hit.
It's possible you like Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, conceding that some songs are belting while others are poor.
The point being is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to create art or even five-day cricket.
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 dictated by the environment.
The climate, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the wicket.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Having 10mm of grass on the wicket, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the patience devoted during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Some factors are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – reading the situation and adjusting accordingly. The best individual scores were made by recognized batters. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the devotees who have suffered years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, generating a party atmosphere in a stronghold of sport.
There was hope as the bowlers surged, momentum when players responded, and unconditional love when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. In the past, a game there featured a strip with all the life of a a damp squib.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the scale – one is not more the standard, yet historical weight can be attached to both.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," observed a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team protected him, restoring the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Different players stepped up with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a starting point to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players assembled on the turf to begin their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, boys. You've earned this one.
