Displayed inside a glass case on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink ensemble performed in by the entertainer. His show in front of a massive crowd of attendees was considered a success.
It's possible you like the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some songs are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to create art or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the foundation on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the great game broken apart and reassembled in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals tumbling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the investment made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more freely than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the wicket and responding effectively. The top two individual innings were made by recognized stars. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and chanted, generating a festive mood in a heartland of sport.
There was optimism as the bowlers dominated, impetus when the top order scored quickly, and pure joy when the result was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. In the past, a game there featured a strip with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and interminable tedium. This recent match and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more ideal, yet historical weight can be found in each.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the death of the long game at all," said a past champion. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team delivered for him, bringing back the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to develop from.
In the end, this Melbourne victory is added to other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the players assembled on the field to start their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
