Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink outfit performed in by the pop star. His performance in front of 100,024 fans was seen as a success.
You might not appreciate the performer. You might think he is the ultimate present to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are poor.
The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on external factors.
The elements, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the format is art, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, causing a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and ongoing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. Sometimes, it turns square on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating owing to the time made elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Certain variables are embraced more readily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the wicket and adapting appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class players. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have suffered years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, producing a carnival vibe in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, momentum when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the win was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a wicket with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a slog, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are polar opposites of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet historical weight can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the memory.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," commented a veteran. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been given some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The players protected him, restoring the joy to his face.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to build on.
At the very least, this triumph is added to other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters departed into a stunning sunset, the players gathered on the outfield to start their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, men. You've earned this one.
