Within a glass case on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a electric pink outfit performed in by the pop star. His show in front of a massive crowd of spectators was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, conceding that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.
The weather, the hour of play, the red ball – the list is endless. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the players craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which produced a win and the second two-day Test of the series.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the surface, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The long game is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and still growing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating because of the investment devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – reading the wicket and adapting effectively. The top two individual innings were made by world-class batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the MCG, countless fans made noise and created an atmosphere, fostering a carnival vibe in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack excelled, impetus when batters scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the result was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the scale – neither perfect, yet historical weight can be ascribed to both.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of Test cricket at all," observed a past champion. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad protected him, reinstating the joy to his countenance.
New faces stepped up with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to secure long-term futures, but something to develop from.
At the very least, this MCG win joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the squad assembled on the field to begin their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. This victory was hard-fought.
