Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the MCG sits a neon pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. The show in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, admitting that some songs are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on external factors.
The elements, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the long game is art, the strip is the foundation on which the athletes craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport dismantled and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the wicket which yielded a triumph and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Having excessive grass on the surface, leading to a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. In contrast, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are even more exciting due to the investment committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the top batters were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The best individual contributions were made by acknowledged players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, thousands waved their flags and sang their songs, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the bowlers dominated, momentum when batters scored quickly, and pure joy when the victory was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and slow play. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to each.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The squad delivered for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Different players stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term success, but a foundation to use as a platform.
In the end, this triumph takes its place among other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad gathered on the field to start their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, lads. It's well deserved.
