Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the MCG rests a neon pink suit performed in by the entertainer. The performance in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a triumph.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some tracks are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no one way to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the strip is the foundation on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the wicket which produced a triumph and the another short match of the contest.
Having 10mm of grass on the pitch, leading to a cascade of wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. Sometimes, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling because of the patience made during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
The format is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and responding appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class players. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the devotees who have suffered 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, generating a carnival vibe in a bastion of national pride.
There was hope as the attack dominated, momentum when the top order scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has a history with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with few wickets and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more the standard, yet historical weight can be attached to them.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the death of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The players delivered for him, restoring the joy to his face.
Emerging talents stepped up with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this triumph is added to other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team assembled on the outfield to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, boys. You've earned this one.
