Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the MCG is housed a neon pink outfit performed in by the pop star. His performance in front of 100,024 fans was considered a triumph.
It's possible you like Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is no one way to create literature or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon conditions.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the format is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reassembled in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the wicket which yielded a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and ongoing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the investment made elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and responding effectively. The best individual innings were made by world-class players. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, generating a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack surged, advantage when batters scored quickly, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has a history with pitch problems. Previously, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a slog, with few wickets and slow play. This recent match and that slow Test are extreme ends of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be attached to each.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the death of the format at all," said a former player. "The people who have been privileged to see these short time have been experienced some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The players responded for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Different players stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the team assembled on the field to begin their own festivities.
Savour the moment, boys. You've earned this one.
