In a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a electric pink outfit performed in by the pop star. The performance in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, conceding that some hits are excellent while others are awful.
The point being is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the strip is the foundation on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving excessive grass on the surface, causing numerous dismissals being taken in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and still growing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are particularly captivating because of the time committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The True Test
Certain variables are embraced more freely than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were hindered from playing their natural game.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual innings were made by acknowledged stars. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the stadium, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, generating a carnival vibe in a heartland of sport.
There was optimism as the bowlers surged, impetus when batters responded, and unconditional love when the win was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG 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 slog, with few wickets and endless boredom. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – neither the standard, yet historical weight can be ascribed to each.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"Far from being the demise of Test cricket at all," observed a past champion. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these short time have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad protected him, reinstating the smile to his face.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to secure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this triumph takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the outfield to commence their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, boys. You've earned this one.
