In a showcase on the upper level of the MCG is housed a electric pink ensemble performed in by Robbie Williams. The concert in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't like his music. You might think he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create music or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.
The weather, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the surface which produced a win and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, leading to a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a varied portfolio, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are even more exciting due to the time devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were prevented from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the wicket and responding effectively. The two highest individual contributions were made by recognized batters. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have endured years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the stadium, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers dominated, momentum when batters scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the win was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. Previously, a match there featured a wicket with all the life of a a damp squib.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. This recent match and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the spectrum – both are not ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to both.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the end of the format at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The players responded for him, bringing back the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents performed with crucial roles. These are small positives, not nearly enough to secure long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this triumph is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters slipped away into a stunning sunset, the players congregated on the turf to commence their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
