Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a neon pink ensemble worn by the pop star. The show in front of a massive crowd of spectators was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't appreciate Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some hits are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to create music or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon conditions.
The weather, the hour of play, the red ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game broken apart and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
This is not a defence of the pitch which produced a win and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, leading to numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating due to the patience devoted elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are tolerated more readily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the top batters were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The top two individual innings were made by world-class batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Try telling the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, a sea of people celebrated and sang their songs, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers excelled, momentum when batters scored quickly, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a grind, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the spectrum – both are not the standard, yet value can be found in both.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the history books.
"It's not the death of the format at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been privileged to see these short time have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad protected him, restoring the positive demeanor to his persona.
Different players performed with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to develop from.
Ultimately, this MCG win joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the team gathered on the turf to commence their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
