Displayed inside a showcase on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink ensemble performed in by the entertainer. His concert in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a triumph.
You might not appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a middle ground, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.
The point being is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create art or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on the environment.
The climate, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the foundation on which the players craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport dismantled and reconstructed in abstract form.
This is not a endorsement of the surface which resulted in a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the wicket, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the patience committed in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the best players were prevented from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about problem solving – reading the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The top two individual innings were made by world-class players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the MCG, countless fans made noise and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the bowlers excelled, momentum when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. Previously, a match there featured a strip with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the spectrum – both are not the standard, yet historical weight can be found in them.
At this stage into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the end of the format at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his countenance.
New faces stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a foundation to develop from.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad gathered on the turf to begin their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
