In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink ensemble worn by the entertainer. His show in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, admitting that some hits are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to create music or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on conditions.
The climate, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the wicket which yielded a win and the another short match of the contest.
Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. In contrast, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The close matches are even more exciting owing to the investment committed during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the top batters were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the wicket and adjusting effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the fans who have endured 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, countless fans made noise and created an atmosphere, producing a carnival vibe in a heartland of sport.
There was hope as the attack dominated, impetus when the top order scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the result was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has form with pitch problems. Previously, a match there featured a strip with all the life of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with limited drama and slow play. This recent match and that previous match are polar opposites of the scale – neither perfect, yet historical weight can be found in both.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the history books.
"It's not the demise of the format at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been privileged to see these short time have been given some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a foundation to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad gathered on the outfield to begin their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
