Within a glass case on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink suit performed in by the pop star. The performance in front of 100,024 attendees was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. You might think he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are poor.
The point being is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft art or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the red ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the strip is the foundation on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the established format taken to pieces and reassembled in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the surface which resulted in a triumph and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Having excessive grass on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The close matches are all the more thrilling due to the investment devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and adjusting effectively. The two highest individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have suffered years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans waved their flags and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of national pride.
There was hope as the fielding side surged, advantage when batters scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the victory was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a wicket with all the life of a a damp squib.
That match was a slog, with few wickets and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more the standard, yet value can be ascribed to them.
At this stage into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of the format at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these short time have been experienced some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his persona.
Emerging talents stepped up with key contributions. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to secure long-term futures, but something to build on.
Ultimately, this MCG win is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a stunning sunset, the team gathered on the field to begin their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, lads. It's well deserved.
