In a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a vibrant pink outfit donned by the entertainer. The show in front of a hundred thousand fans was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. You might think he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a middle ground, acknowledging that some songs are excellent while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.
The weather, the time of day, the ball – the list is endless. Above all is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the great game taken to pieces and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
This is not a endorsement of the surface which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Having excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The format is a varied portfolio, a long history and ongoing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. Other times, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating owing to the investment committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Certain variables are embraced more freely than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual innings were made by world-class players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the devotees who have suffered 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a heartland of sport.
There was optimism as the attack dominated, advantage when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.
That fixture was a slog, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the scale – neither ideal, yet historical weight can be attached to them.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the history books.
"It's not the death of the long game at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The players responded for him, restoring the joy to his face.
New faces delivered with key contributions. These are small positives, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but something to develop from.
Ultimately, this triumph joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans departed into a beautiful night, the squad gathered on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
