'Are You Not Entertained?' The Reason a Two-Day Test Was No Less a Genuine Test.
Within a glass case on the upper level of the MCG sits a vibrant pink ensemble worn by the pop star. His concert in front of a massive crowd of fans was considered a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some songs are belting while others are awful.
The point being is that amusement can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to produce literature or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If the format is art, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a triumph and the second two-day Test of the series.
Having excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the ball does all sorts for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting owing to the investment committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the attack. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – assessing the situation and responding effectively. The two highest individual innings were made by world-class stars. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the devotees who have suffered years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands celebrated and sang their songs, generating a carnival vibe in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the bowlers excelled, impetus when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with all the life of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and slow play. The latest encounter and that previous match are extreme ends of the scale – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the end of the format at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The players protected him, bringing back the smile to his face.
New faces performed with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to build on.
At the very least, this MCG win is added to other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans slipped away into a beautiful night, the players assembled on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, men. This victory was hard-fought.
