Displayed inside a display cabinet on the third floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink suit worn by the entertainer. His show in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a middle ground, acknowledging that some hits are belting while others are poor.
The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon conditions.
The weather, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the pitch.
If the long game is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the pitch which produced a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Having excessive grass on the surface, resulting in numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and ongoing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the patience committed elsewhere.
Adaptation: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the situation and adapting effectively. The top two individual innings were made by recognized players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have endured 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans made noise and created an atmosphere, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the fielding side surged, impetus when players scored quickly, and unconditional love when the win was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a non-event.
That contest was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the scale – both are not the standard, yet value can be found in each.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the death of the long game at all," said a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these short time have been treated to some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
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 back.
The team protected him, reinstating the smile to his countenance.
Emerging talents performed with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a starting point to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph takes its place among other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad assembled on the outfield to begin their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, men. It's well deserved.
