In a glass case on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a vibrant pink suit donned by the entertainer. The show in front of a massive crowd of spectators was considered a major hit.
It's possible you appreciate Robbie Williams. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are excellent while others are poor.
The key argument is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to produce music or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The weather, the hour of play, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the foundation on which the athletes create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the surface which resulted in a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting because of the time devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Certain variables are tolerated more easily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and adapting accordingly. The two highest individual innings were made by recognized stars. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have experienced years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the ground, countless fans waved their flags and sang their songs, producing a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the bowlers excelled, impetus when the top order fought back, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. In the past, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That match was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be ascribed to each.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the memory.
"This isn't the death of Test cricket at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his face.
New faces performed with vital performances. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to develop from.
In the end, this triumph joins other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the squad congregated on the field to commence their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, men. This victory was hard-fought.
