Within a showcase on the upper level of the MCG sits a vibrant pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. His performance in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.
The point being is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no one way to create literature or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and reconstructed in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the wicket which yielded a win and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, leading to 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The long game is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and counting. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The close matches are even more exciting due to the time committed during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are tolerated more easily than others.
The contention in Melbourne 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 adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and adapting effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands celebrated and created an atmosphere, producing a festive mood in a heartland of national pride.
There was optimism as the attack dominated, advantage when batters fought back, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with the character of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and slow play. This recent match and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be attached to both.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the end of the format at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The team protected him, restoring the smile to his countenance.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this MCG win takes its place among other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the players congregated on the turf to start their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
