Within a glass case on the upper level of the MCG is housed a electric pink suit performed in by the pop star. His concert in front of a massive crowd of fans was seen as a major hit.
You might not enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some tracks are fantastic while others are poor.
The central idea is that amusement can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no one way to craft art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon conditions.
The weather, the time of day, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the foundation on which the players create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Allowing a thick layer on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not an even battle 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 inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating owing to the time committed elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were hindered from playing their natural game.
The format is about problem solving – reading the conditions and responding appropriately. The top two individual innings were made by acknowledged players. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands celebrated and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was hope as the attack excelled, momentum when the top order fought back, and pure joy when the victory was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a game there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a non-event.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – both are not the standard, yet value can be attached to both.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the memory.
"It's not the end of the format at all," said a veteran. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the leader spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The squad responded for him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his persona.
Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but a foundation to use as a platform.
At the very least, this triumph joins other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a stunning sunset, the players congregated on the turf to commence their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, boys. You've earned this one.
