Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink suit donned by the entertainer. The show in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a success.
You might not like Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no one way to create art or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon conditions.
The weather, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the pitch is the foundation on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and reassembled in abstract form.
This is not a justification of the surface which yielded a win and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Having excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is mistaken.
The format is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. Other times, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating because of the time made during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and adapting effectively. The top two individual scores were made by world-class stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the supporters who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the stadium, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, producing a carnival vibe in a bastion of national pride.
There was optimism as the attack dominated, advantage when players scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are polar opposites of the spectrum – both are not the standard, yet historical weight can be ascribed to each.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"It's not the death of the format at all," commented a veteran. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this match, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents stepped up with vital performances. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to develop from.
In the end, this MCG win takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, lads. You've earned this one.
