In a display cabinet on the third floor of the MCG rests a neon pink ensemble performed in by the entertainer. His performance in front of a hundred thousand attendees was seen as a success.
It's possible you enjoy his music. You might think he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create literature or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the pitch is the foundation on which the players create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which resulted in a win and the another short match of the contest.
Allowing a thick layer on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are particularly captivating due to the patience committed during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Certain variables are accepted more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the conditions and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the fans who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, thousands made noise and chanted, generating a festive mood in a heartland of national pride.
There was belief as the bowlers surged, advantage when the top order fought back, and pure joy when the win was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a a damp squib.
That match was a grind, with few wickets and slow play. This recent match and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – neither the standard, yet historical weight can be ascribed to both.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the end of the format at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad responded for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with crucial roles. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to build on.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters slipped away into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the turf to begin their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
