Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink ensemble performed in by the entertainer. The performance in front of 100,024 fans was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, conceding that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.
The point being is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by conditions.
The weather, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the established format broken apart and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which resulted in a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and still growing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. Other times, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating because of the patience devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were prevented from playing their natural game.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and responding appropriately. The two highest individual innings were made by world-class players. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the ground, thousands made noise and chanted, generating a carnival vibe in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the fielding side surged, impetus when batters scored quickly, and pure joy when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a match there featured a strip with all the life of a a damp squib.
That match was a marathon, with few wickets and slow play. The two-day game and that slow Test are polar opposites of the range – one is not more the standard, yet value can be found in them.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the memory.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," observed a former player. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been experienced some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The team delivered for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
Different players performed with crucial roles. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the squad congregated on the outfield to begin their own festivities.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
