Displayed inside a display cabinet on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink suit performed in by the pop star. His concert in front of 100,024 fans was seen as a triumph.
It's possible you like Robbie Williams. You might think he is the ultimate present to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some songs are excellent while others are poor.
The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to produce literature or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the long game is a form of art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game taken to pieces and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
This is not a justification of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving a thick layer on the wicket, resulting in 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The format is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the investment made elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Specific conditions are embraced more freely than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the conditions and responding appropriately. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and chanted, producing a carnival vibe in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, impetus when players fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a match there featured a pitch with the character of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a slog, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the scale – neither the standard, yet significance can be found in both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"Far from being the demise of the long game at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the leader spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The squad responded for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Different players stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a foundation to build on.
In the end, this MCG win joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team congregated on the outfield to commence their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
