Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a vibrant pink suit donned by the entertainer. The show in front of a massive crowd of fans was seen as a triumph.
It's possible you like the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a middle ground, admitting that some tracks are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that entertainment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create literature or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the pitch.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the foundation on which the athletes create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the established format broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.
This is not a endorsement of the surface which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving a thick layer on the pitch, resulting in 36 wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the time devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
The format is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and adapting appropriately. The top two individual innings were made by recognized batters. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have suffered 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, countless fans waved their flags and sang their songs, fostering a carnival vibe in a heartland of national pride.
There was optimism as the bowlers dominated, advantage when players scored quickly, and unconditional love when the result was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a game there featured a wicket with the character of a a non-event.
That match was a marathon, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that previous match are extreme ends of the range – one is not more ideal, yet value can be found in both.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the history books.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," said a past champion. "The people who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been given some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The squad responded for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
New faces performed with vital performances. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to develop from.
In the end, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans left into a stunning sunset, the players congregated on the turf to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. You've earned this one.
