Within a glass case on the third floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink suit donned by the pop star. His performance in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft art or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Having excessive grass on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals being taken in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. Other times, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting due to the time committed during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – assessing the situation and adapting appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by recognized batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the devotees who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people waved their flags and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a heartland of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, advantage when players fought back, and pure joy when the win was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has form with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a slog, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – both are not the standard, yet significance can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the memory.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," commented a veteran. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours 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 spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The players delivered for him, restoring the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to develop from.
At the very least, this triumph takes its place among other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players congregated on the field to commence their own festivities.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
