Within a showcase on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink outfit performed in by the pop star. The performance in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you like the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to create music or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by the environment.
The elements, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is art, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which produced a victory and the another short match of the series.
Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, causing 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the seamers. Other times, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating owing to the time made during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the situation and adapting effectively. The two highest individual innings were made by world-class batters. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, producing a carnival vibe in a heartland of national pride.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, momentum when batters fought back, and rapturous celebration when the victory was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That fixture was a slog, with few wickets and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more the standard, yet significance can be found in both.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the memory.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been treated to some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the captain spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his persona.
Different players stepped up with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to ensure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this triumph is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players assembled on the turf to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
