In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a neon pink suit donned by the entertainer. His concert in front of a massive crowd of fans was considered a success.
You might not like Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a middle ground, conceding that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to craft art or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the time of day, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Above all is the pitch.
If the long game is a form of art, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and reassembled in an unusual manner.
This is not a endorsement of the pitch which produced a triumph and the another short match of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, leading to a cascade of wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and ongoing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are particularly captivating due to the investment made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are embraced more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the top batters were unable from playing their natural game.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the situation and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual contributions were made by recognized stars. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the stadium, countless fans celebrated and sang their songs, fostering a carnival vibe in a bastion of national pride.
There was optimism as the bowlers excelled, momentum when players responded, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a match there featured a wicket with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a slog, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – neither the standard, yet value can be ascribed to both.
At this stage 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 veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been given some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad protected him, reinstating the joy to his countenance.
New faces performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to ensure long-term success, but something to build on.
In the end, this triumph takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the turf to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
