Within a display cabinet on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a neon pink ensemble performed in by the pop star. The concert in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some hits are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to craft art or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by conditions.
The climate, the time of day, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the wicket.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the pitch which yielded a triumph and the another short match of the contest.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, leading to numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a varied portfolio, a long history and counting. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it turns square on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the patience committed elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Certain variables are tolerated more easily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The best individual scores were made by recognized players. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the stadium, countless fans waved their flags and created an atmosphere, generating a carnival vibe in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack dominated, advantage when the top order scored quickly, and pure joy when the result was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a game there featured a wicket with all the life of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the memory.
"It's not the end of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Different players delivered with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term futures, but a starting point to build on.
At the very least, this MCG win is added to other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the fans left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the turf to commence their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, lads. It's well deserved.
