In a showcase on the third floor of the MCG rests a vibrant pink outfit worn by the pop star. The show in front of a massive crowd of attendees was considered a triumph.
It's possible you like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, acknowledging that some hits are fantastic while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to create music or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the hour of play, the red ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the pitch.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the players create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the surface which yielded a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving a thick layer on the wicket, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and counting. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating due to the time committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the conditions and adapting appropriately. The best individual scores were made by world-class players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the supporters who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, thousands waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was hope as the bowlers surged, impetus when the top order fought back, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and slow play. This recent match and that previous match are polar opposites of the range – neither perfect, yet significance can be ascribed to them.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," observed a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The players delivered for him, reinstating the smile to his persona.
Different players performed with crucial roles. These are small positives, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but something to develop from.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters departed into a beautiful night, the squad congregated on the field to begin their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
