In a showcase on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a neon pink ensemble performed in by the pop star. His concert in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a middle ground, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The point being is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to produce music or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the wicket which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Allowing a thick layer on the pitch, causing a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. Other times, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the patience made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are tolerated more readily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were unable from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the conditions and responding accordingly. The two highest individual scores were made by recognized batters. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the stadium, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was optimism as the bowlers excelled, impetus when players fought back, and rapturous celebration when the victory was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience 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 minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither ideal, yet significance can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"It's not the end of the format at all," commented a past champion. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The squad responded for him, bringing back the smile to his face.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term success, but something to develop from.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, men. This victory was hard-fought.
