Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink suit performed in by the pop star. His concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a triumph.
You might not appreciate the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. You might take a middle ground, admitting that some hits are excellent while others are awful.
The central idea is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is no one way to craft music or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the time of day, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport dismantled and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the pitch which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Having excessive grass on the surface, leading to numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the time made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Some factors are embraced more easily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from showcasing their talents.
The format is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and adjusting effectively. The two highest individual contributions were made by recognized batters. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the ground, thousands celebrated and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the bowlers surged, momentum when the top order scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the result was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither the standard, yet historical weight can be ascribed to them.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the memory.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," said a former player. "Fans who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been treated to some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the leader spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The players responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his countenance.
New faces stepped up with key contributions. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a starting point to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players assembled on the turf to start their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
