In a display cabinet on the upper level of the MCG is housed a electric pink suit performed in by the pop star. The performance in front of a hundred thousand fans was seen as a success.
You might not like the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, acknowledging that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to produce music or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon conditions.
The climate, the time of day, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the foundation on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in abstract form.
This is not a justification of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, leading to a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting because of the investment devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are embraced more easily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were unable from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – reading the conditions and responding effectively. The best individual scores were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have experienced a long drought that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the ground, countless fans made noise and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the fielding side dominated, momentum when players scored quickly, and pure joy when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a strip with the character of a a damp squib.
That match was a grind, with limited drama and slow play. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the spectrum – one is not more the standard, yet value can be ascribed to each.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"It's not the end of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team responded for him, restoring the smile to his persona.
New faces performed with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but a starting point to develop from.
At the very least, this triumph takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players assembled on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, men. It's well deserved.
