Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a neon pink outfit donned by the entertainer. His concert in front of a massive crowd of attendees was hailed as a success.
You might not appreciate the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some hits are excellent while others are awful.
The point being is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by conditions.
The elements, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Above all is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport dismantled and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the wicket which produced a triumph and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The format is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling because of the investment made elsewhere.
Adaptation: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more readily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the wicket and adapting accordingly. The best individual innings were made by acknowledged stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans celebrated and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of sport.
There was hope as the bowlers surged, impetus when the top order fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with difficult wickets. In the past, a match there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a non-event.
That contest was a slog, with minimal action and slow play. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the spectrum – both are not ideal, yet historical weight can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the history books.
"Far from being the demise of the long game at all," commented a veteran. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some genuine drama. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The squad responded for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
Different players performed with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a starting point to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph takes its place among other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the fans slipped away into a stunning sunset, the team congregated on the turf to commence their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
