In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG sits a neon pink ensemble worn by the entertainer. The concert in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a triumph.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. You might take a middle ground, conceding that some hits are excellent while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to craft music or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the hour of play, the red ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the foundation on which the cricketers create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
This is not a endorsement of the wicket which produced a victory and the another short match of the contest.
Leaving a thick layer on the wicket, leading to a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and counting. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are all the more thrilling due to the patience made elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Some factors are tolerated more easily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the best players were prevented from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and responding effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the devotees who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the MCG, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, producing a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the fielding side surged, momentum when players fought back, and rapturous celebration when the victory was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a slog, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – neither perfect, yet historical weight can be attached to each.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the death of the format at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, bringing back the joy to his face.
Different players performed with crucial roles. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term success, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad assembled on the turf to begin their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, men. You've earned this one.
