Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the MCG sits a electric pink suit donned by the entertainer. The performance in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a major hit.
It's possible you appreciate Robbie Williams. You might think he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.
The point being is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no one way to craft art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the time of day, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the wicket.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the players craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the wicket which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the series.
Having excessive grass on the surface, causing a cascade of wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and ongoing. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling because of the time committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the wicket and responding appropriately. The top two individual scores were made by world-class stars. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have suffered 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the ground, thousands waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a carnival vibe in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack surged, advantage when players scored quickly, and pure joy when the win was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a match there featured a strip with all the life of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and slow play. The latest encounter and that slow Test are polar opposites of the scale – both are not the standard, yet historical weight can be attached to each.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," said a past champion. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some real entertainment. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The players delivered for him, restoring the smile to his face.
New faces stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to guarantee long-term success, but something to build on.
In the end, this MCG win is added to other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad gathered on the outfield to begin their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
