Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a vibrant pink outfit performed in by the pop star. The concert in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a major hit.
You might not like Robbie Williams. You might think he is the ultimate present to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, admitting that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to produce art or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the pitch.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the foundation on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the wicket which produced a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, a long history and ongoing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the patience devoted during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are embraced more easily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the wicket and adapting appropriately. The two highest individual innings were made by acknowledged players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, countless fans celebrated and created an atmosphere, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, impetus when players responded, and pure joy when the result was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with difficult wickets. In the past, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that slow Test are extreme ends of the spectrum – neither ideal, yet value can be attached to both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of the format at all," observed a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been given some real entertainment. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the leader spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The players responded for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but a starting point to use as a platform.
In the end, this MCG win joins other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad gathered on the field to begin their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, boys. You've earned this one.
