In a glass case on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink outfit donned by the pop star. The show in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a success.
You might not like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft music or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon external factors.
The weather, the time of day, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the long game is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the players craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the established format dismantled and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
This is not a justification of the surface which yielded a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Having 10mm of grass on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Other times, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are particularly captivating owing to the investment made elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Certain variables are tolerated more readily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the top batters were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the conditions and adjusting effectively. The top two individual innings were made by world-class batters. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, producing a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was belief as the attack dominated, momentum when the top order responded, and unconditional love when the victory was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a match there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a marathon, with few wickets and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that slow Test are extreme ends of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet historical weight can be found in both.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The squad protected him, restoring the joy to his face.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to secure long-term stability, but a starting point to build on.
Ultimately, this triumph joins other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a stunning sunset, the players congregated on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, lads. It's well deserved.