Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink outfit donned by the entertainer. His show in front of a hundred thousand attendees was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a balanced view, admitting that some hits are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce music or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The weather, the time of day, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which resulted in a win and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the wicket, resulting in numerous dismissals being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is mistaken.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and ongoing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Other times, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the investment made elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – reading the conditions and adapting accordingly. The top two individual innings were made by recognized batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the MCG, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, fostering a carnival vibe in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers dominated, impetus when players fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with controversial surfaces. In the past, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That match was a marathon, with few wickets and endless boredom. The two-day game and that slow Test are polar opposites of the range – both are not the standard, yet historical weight can be ascribed to each.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"It's not the demise of the format at all," commented a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The squad responded for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his persona.
Emerging talents stepped up with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term stability, but a starting point to develop from.
In the end, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players congregated on the outfield to commence their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, men. You've earned this one.
