Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a neon pink ensemble donned by the pop star. The performance in front of 100,024 attendees was considered a major hit.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. You might think he is the ultimate present to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, conceding that some hits are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on conditions.
The climate, the time of day, the ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the wicket.
If the format is art, the pitch is the foundation on which the cricketers create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the wicket which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, causing a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the fast men. Sometimes, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the patience made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and responding accordingly. The two highest individual innings were made by recognized stars. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the fans who have suffered years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the stadium, countless fans celebrated and sang their songs, generating a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the bowlers surged, advantage when the top order fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has form with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a wicket with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a grind, with few wickets and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – neither the standard, yet significance can be attached to both.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the history books.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," said a former player. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The team delivered for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his face.
New faces delivered with key contributions. These are small positives, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the field to start their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. This victory was hard-fought.
