In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink ensemble performed in by the entertainer. His show in front of a hundred thousand spectators was considered a success.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some hits are excellent while others are terrible.
The point being is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the session, the red ball – the list is endless. Above all is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another short match of the series.
Having 10mm of grass on the wicket, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and ongoing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the investment devoted elsewhere.
Adaptation: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and adjusting accordingly. The best individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the stadium, a sea of people waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of sport.
There was hope as the attack excelled, advantage when batters scored quickly, and pure joy when the victory was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with pitch problems. In the past, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – both are not ideal, yet significance can be found in them.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the memory.
"It's not the end of the format at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these short time have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The players delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his countenance.
Different players stepped up with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to develop from.
In the end, this MCG win joins other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the players congregated on the outfield to begin their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, boys. It's well deserved.
