Displayed inside a showcase on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a neon pink suit performed in by the pop star. The performance in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to create music or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the time of day, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the pitch.
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 MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game broken apart and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the wicket which resulted in a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Having 10mm of grass on the surface, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and ongoing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling because of the investment devoted during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the situation and responding effectively. The best individual contributions were made by acknowledged stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands celebrated and created an atmosphere, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was optimism as the attack surged, momentum when batters responded, and pure joy when the win was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a match there featured a wicket with the character of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – neither ideal, yet historical weight can be attached to each.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of the format at all," observed a past champion. "The people who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The team delivered for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his persona.
New faces stepped up with vital performances. These are small positives, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but a starting point to develop from.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the squad congregated on the field to commence their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
