In a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a electric pink outfit worn by the pop star. The performance in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. You might think he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a middle ground, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.
The point being is that entertainment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the hour of play, the red ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the pitch.
If the format is a form of art, the pitch is the foundation on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the surface which yielded a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Having a thick layer on the wicket, causing numerous dismissals tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. Other times, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the investment made in other matches.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Specific conditions are tolerated more easily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and adapting appropriately. The top two individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the fans who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, fostering a party atmosphere in a heartland of national pride.
There was hope as the fielding side surged, advantage when players responded, and unconditional love when the victory was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and slow play. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the end of Test cricket at all," observed a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these short time have been experienced some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team delivered for him, reinstating the joy to his persona.
New faces delivered with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a starting point to develop from.
Ultimately, this triumph takes its place among other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans slipped away into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the field to commence their own festivities.
Savour the moment, boys. You've earned this one.
