Within a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink outfit performed in by Robbie Williams. His concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a balanced view, admitting that some hits are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is no one way to produce art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the foundation on which the cricketers create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the wicket which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, leading to a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. In contrast, it turns square on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting because of the patience made in other matches.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are tolerated more readily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and responding accordingly. The top two individual innings were made by acknowledged batters. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the supporters who have endured years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the ground, countless fans celebrated and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of sport.
There was optimism as the bowlers dominated, momentum when players fought back, and rapturous celebration when the win was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with controversial surfaces. Previously, a match there featured a pitch with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a slog, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to each.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the death of the format at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The squad delivered for him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his countenance.
New faces performed with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term success, but a foundation to develop from.
Ultimately, this MCG win joins other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the field to commence their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, men. This victory was hard-fought.
