Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink ensemble worn by the entertainer. His concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was considered a triumph.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some hits are fantastic while others are awful.
The point being is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the foundation on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the pitch which produced a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the wicket, causing 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling because of the time devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and adapting effectively. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class players. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was belief as the attack surged, momentum when batters scored quickly, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be attached to each.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the end of the long game at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been given some real entertainment. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The team delivered for him, restoring the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this MCG win joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, boys. It's well deserved.
