Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the MCG rests a electric pink outfit worn by the pop star. His performance in front of a massive crowd of fans was considered a major hit.
You might not enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a middle ground, admitting that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no one way to produce art or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Above all is the pitch.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the established format taken to pieces and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the wicket which produced a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Allowing a thick layer on the surface, leading to 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the time committed elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and responding appropriately. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged players. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the fans who have suffered years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, thousands celebrated and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was hope as the fielding side dominated, advantage when batters responded, and unconditional love when the win was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has a history with controversial surfaces. In the past, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a slog, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that slow Test are polar opposites of the range – neither the standard, yet significance can be attached to them.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the history books.
"It's not the end of Test cricket at all," said a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The team responded for him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his persona.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to develop from.
Ultimately, this MCG win is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters departed into a stunning sunset, the team congregated on the turf to commence their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, men. It's well deserved.
