In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a electric pink outfit worn by the pop star. The concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some hits are belting while others are poor.
The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no one way to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on external factors.
The climate, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the pitch.
If the format is a form of art, the pitch is the foundation on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the wicket which yielded a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Having a thick layer on the surface, leading to a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a rich tapestry, a long history and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. In contrast, it turns square on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the patience made in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Some factors are accepted more freely than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from showcasing their talents.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the situation and responding appropriately. The top two individual innings were made by recognized players. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, thousands made noise and created an atmosphere, producing a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the fielding side excelled, impetus when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with the character of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and slow play. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," said a former player. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team protected him, restoring the positive demeanor to his persona.
Different players delivered with vital performances. These are small positives, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to develop from.
Ultimately, this triumph takes its place among other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a stunning sunset, the team gathered on the field to begin their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, boys. It's well deserved.
