In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a vibrant pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. The performance in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate Robbie Williams. You might think he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, acknowledging that some hits are fantastic while others are poor.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is not a single method to produce music or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the surface which yielded a triumph and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Having excessive grass on the wicket, resulting in a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it turns square on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The close matches are all the more thrilling because of the patience committed in other matches.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Certain variables are embraced more freely than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and adapting effectively. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class stars. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, thousands made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack dominated, impetus when the top order scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with all the life of a a damp squib.
That match was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be attached to both.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"This isn't the demise of the format at all," said a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The players responded for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Emerging talents stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the field to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, men. This victory was hard-fought.
