Displayed inside a glass case on the third floor of the MCG rests a electric pink ensemble performed in by the pop star. His concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some songs are fantastic while others are poor.
The point being is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no one way to create literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the red ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If Test cricket is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
This is not a defence of the wicket which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the surface, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The long game is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the time devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and responding appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class players. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the attack excelled, momentum when batters scored quickly, and unconditional love when the victory was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a strip with the character of a a non-event.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are polar opposites of the scale – both are not the standard, yet value can be ascribed to each.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," commented a veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The squad delivered for him, restoring the smile to his countenance.
Emerging talents delivered with key contributions. These are small positives, certainly not enough to secure long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans departed into a stunning sunset, the team congregated on the turf to begin their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, lads. It's well deserved.
