In a showcase on the elevated floor of the MCG sits a electric pink suit donned by the entertainer. The performance in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a major hit.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The point being is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft art 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 contest is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the pitch.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the foundation on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Having 10mm of grass on the surface, leading to numerous dismissals tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The format is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the patience made in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the conditions and adjusting accordingly. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the devotees who have suffered a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the MCG, thousands celebrated and sang their songs, generating a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was optimism as the bowlers surged, advantage when players responded, and unconditional love when the win was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a wicket with the character of a a damp squib.
That contest was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. This recent match and that previous match are extreme ends of the scale – both are not the standard, yet value can be attached to each.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the memory.
"Far from being the death of the format at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some genuine drama. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The squad protected him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his countenance.
New faces stepped up with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team assembled on the outfield to begin their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
