Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink suit worn by the pop star. His concert in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a success.
You might not like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music in history. You might take a balanced view, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the playing surface.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in abstract form.
This is not a justification of the surface which resulted in a victory and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Allowing a thick layer on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are even more exciting owing to the patience committed elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Some factors are tolerated more freely than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and responding effectively. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the stadium, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, fostering a carnival vibe in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the attack surged, impetus when batters scored quickly, and unconditional love when the victory was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a game there featured a wicket with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the scale – both are not ideal, yet significance can be found in them.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the death of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "The people who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been treated to some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team responded for him, restoring the joy to his face.
Different players stepped up with crucial roles. These are small positives, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the turf to start their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
