Within a showcase on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink outfit donned by the pop star. The performance in front of a hundred thousand attendees was hailed as a major hit.
It's possible you like Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a balanced view, conceding that some hits are fantastic while others are poor.
The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create music or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on the environment.
The elements, the time of day, the red ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the foundation on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Having a thick layer on the wicket, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and counting. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. Other times, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating due to the patience made in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are tolerated more easily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The top two individual scores were made by recognized stars. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the fans who have endured 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the stadium, thousands celebrated and sang their songs, generating a carnival vibe in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers excelled, impetus when players scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the victory was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with difficult wickets. In the past, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and interminable tedium. This recent match and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be attached to each.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the memory.
"This isn't the death of the format at all," observed a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The players protected him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his persona.
New faces performed with crucial roles. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a stunning sunset, the team congregated on the field to start their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, boys. You've earned this one.
