Displayed inside a glass case on the upper level of the MCG is housed a electric pink outfit performed in by the pop star. His performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a middle ground, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are awful.
The point being is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and reconstructed in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the wicket which produced a triumph and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the patience committed during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The True Test
Certain variables are embraced more easily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the top batters were unable from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and responding effectively. The best individual scores were made by recognized players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the devotees who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the stadium, a sea of people celebrated and created an atmosphere, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the fielding side dominated, advantage when batters fought back, and rapturous celebration when the victory was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be found in both.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the history books.
"It's not the demise of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The team delivered for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this triumph is added to other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team congregated on the outfield to start their own festivities.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
