Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink suit performed in by the pop star. His concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was considered a major hit.
Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.
The point being is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to create literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the format is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game taken to pieces and reassembled in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which yielded a victory and the another short match of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The long game is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and ongoing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. In contrast, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the time committed elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and responding accordingly. The two highest individual scores were made by acknowledged batters. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the ground, a sea of people made noise and chanted, fostering a carnival vibe in a bastion of sport.
There was hope as the attack surged, momentum when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a strip with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and slow play. The latest encounter and that previous match are polar opposites of the range – neither perfect, yet historical weight can be found in both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the death of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been experienced some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this match, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The players responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Different players delivered with key contributions. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to secure long-term stability, but a foundation to build on.
Ultimately, this MCG win is added to other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the field to start their own festivities.
Savour the moment, boys. It's well deserved.
