Within a showcase on the third floor of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink suit worn by the pop star. His show in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a triumph.
You might not appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to craft art or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on the environment.
The climate, the session, the red ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the players paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the wicket which resulted in a triumph and the another short match of the contest.
Allowing excessive grass on the surface, leading to a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and counting. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the investment committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the conditions and responding effectively. The best individual scores were made by recognized batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Try telling the supporters who have suffered years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the MCG, thousands celebrated and sang their songs, producing a party atmosphere in a heartland of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, momentum when the top order fought back, and pure joy when the victory was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a match there featured a strip with all the life of a a non-event.
That fixture was a grind, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that previous match are extreme ends of the spectrum – both are not ideal, yet historical weight can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the memory.
"This isn't the demise of the format at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The players protected him, bringing back the joy to his countenance.
New faces performed with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but a starting point to develop from.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans departed into a beautiful night, the players congregated on the outfield to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
