In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG sits a electric pink ensemble worn by the pop star. The show in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a middle ground, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are awful.
The point being is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and reconstructed in abstract form.
This is not a endorsement of the wicket which resulted in a triumph and the another short match of the series.
Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, causing 36 wickets falling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. At times, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the time devoted during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are tolerated more freely than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the top batters were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and responding accordingly. The best individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans celebrated and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a heartland of sport.
There was belief as the attack surged, impetus when players scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the win was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has a history with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.
That fixture was a marathon, with few wickets and interminable tedium. This recent match and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – neither perfect, yet value can be found in both.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," commented a former player. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The team responded for him, reinstating the smile to his face.
Emerging talents performed with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to guarantee long-term success, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this triumph joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad gathered on the field to commence their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, lads. It's well deserved.
