In a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink suit worn by the entertainer. The show in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a success.
It's possible you appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some songs are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by the environment.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the strip is the foundation on which the players create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and reassembled in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the wicket which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing excessive grass on the surface, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and ongoing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are particularly captivating because of the patience made during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the balance was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and adapting effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by recognized stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the supporters who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people waved their flags and sang their songs, fostering a party atmosphere in a stronghold of sport.
There was hope as the fielding side excelled, momentum when players responded, and pure joy when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has form with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a match there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That match was a marathon, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be attached to each.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The squad delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his persona.
Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this triumph is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the squad gathered on the turf to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
