Within a showcase on the third floor of the MCG sits a neon pink suit donned by the entertainer. His performance in front of a hundred thousand attendees was hailed as a major hit.
It's possible you like the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon conditions.
The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the pitch.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the canvas on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the wicket which resulted in a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Allowing excessive grass on the surface, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and ongoing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting because of the time committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the wicket and adjusting effectively. The top two individual innings were made by acknowledged batters. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the devotees who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the stadium, thousands made noise and sang their songs, fostering a carnival vibe in a bastion of sport.
There was hope as the attack dominated, momentum when batters responded, and rapturous celebration when the win was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has form with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a strip with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a marathon, with few wickets and slow play. The latest encounter and that slow Test are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet value can be found in each.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the history books.
"It's not the death of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been treated to some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The players responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his persona.
Different players stepped up with vital performances. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory joins other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the team gathered on the field to begin their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
