Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink outfit worn by the entertainer. His show in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a major hit.
It's possible you appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no one way to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the time of day, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the wicket.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the surface which resulted in a victory and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Having excessive grass on the surface, resulting in numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the patience committed during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
The format is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and responding accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by recognized stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, a sea of people waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was optimism as the attack excelled, advantage when players responded, and unconditional love when the win was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That match was a marathon, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet value can be found in each.
At this stage into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the memory.
"This isn't the end of Test cricket at all," commented a veteran. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The players responded for him, reinstating the smile to his persona.
New faces stepped up with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term stability, but a starting point to use as a platform.
In the end, this MCG win is added to other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the team congregated on the turf to start their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, boys. It's well deserved.
