Within a glass case on the upper level of the MCG is housed a neon pink suit worn by the pop star. His show in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate Robbie Williams. You might think he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a balanced view, admitting that some songs are excellent while others are poor.
The central idea is that amusement can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no one way to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon the environment.
The elements, the time of day, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the pitch.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
This is not a defence of the pitch which resulted in a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving a thick layer on the wicket, resulting in numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and ongoing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the seamers. Other times, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the time devoted elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the best players were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the situation and responding appropriately. The best individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the devotees who have experienced years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the stadium, countless fans celebrated and sang their songs, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers dominated, impetus when the top order scored quickly, and unconditional love when the result was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a wicket with all the life of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. This recent match and that slow Test are polar opposites of the range – neither perfect, yet significance can be attached to them.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the demise of the format at all," commented a veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some genuine drama. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the captain spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team responded for him, reinstating the smile to his persona.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are small positives, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to develop from.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the team assembled on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, boys. It's well deserved.
