In a showcase on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a vibrant pink suit worn by the pop star. His show in front of a massive crowd of spectators was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. You might think he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no one way to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game taken to pieces and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the wicket which yielded a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. In contrast, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting owing to the time committed during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The True Test
Specific conditions are tolerated more readily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
The format is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and adjusting appropriately. The two highest individual innings were made by recognized stars. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have endured a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, generating a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the attack dominated, impetus when the top order scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the victory was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has form with controversial surfaces. In the past, a Test there featured a pitch with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are extreme ends of the range – neither ideal, yet historical weight can be attached to them.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the memory.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been given some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team responded for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to ensure long-term futures, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory is added to other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters departed into a beautiful night, the players congregated on the field to begin their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
