Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a vibrant pink ensemble performed in by the pop star. His performance in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a major hit.
Perhaps you don't appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some songs are excellent while others are poor.
The central idea is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the session, the red ball – the list is endless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is art, the strip is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport taken to pieces and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
This is not a justification of the surface which yielded a win and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and counting. At times, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Other times, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting due to the time made elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were unable from showcasing their talents.
The format is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and adjusting accordingly. The best individual scores were made by acknowledged stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the fans who have experienced years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people celebrated and created an atmosphere, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of sport.
There was optimism as the attack surged, advantage when batters fought back, and rapturous celebration when the win was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. In the past, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the scale – neither ideal, yet value can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the history books.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," observed a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been treated to some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The squad responded for him, bringing back the joy to his face.
Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are small positives, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a foundation to develop from.
In the end, this MCG win joins other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters left into a stunning sunset, the team gathered on the field to start their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
