Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink outfit performed in by the pop star. The show in front of 100,024 fans was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are fantastic while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft music or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the time of day, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the foundation on which the cricketers create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the pitch which resulted in a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Having a thick layer on the pitch, resulting in 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The format is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and ongoing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. Other times, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The close matches are all the more thrilling due to the investment devoted during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The True Test
Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the situation and adapting accordingly. The top two individual innings were made by recognized stars. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have suffered years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the stadium, a sea of people waved their flags and chanted, generating a festive mood in a heartland of national pride.
There was optimism as the attack dominated, momentum when players scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the win was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a strip with all the life of a a damp squib.
That match was a slog, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet value can be found in each.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the memory.
"It's not the demise of the format at all," said a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The players protected him, bringing back the smile to his face.
New faces performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a foundation to use as a platform.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans left into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the outfield to start their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, boys. It's well deserved.
