In a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a electric pink ensemble worn by the pop star. The show in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. You might take a middle ground, acknowledging that some hits are excellent while others are poor.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no one way to produce literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The elements, the time of day, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the playing surface.
If the long game is art, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the surface which resulted in a victory and the another short match of the series.
Allowing a thick layer on the surface, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the patience devoted elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Certain variables are embraced more readily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and responding appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by acknowledged stars. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the devotees who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans made noise and chanted, generating a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was belief as the attack dominated, advantage when players scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the win was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and slow play. The latest encounter and that previous match are extreme ends of the range – one is not more ideal, yet value can be ascribed to them.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the history books.
"It's not the death of the format at all," observed a former player. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his face.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are small positives, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a foundation to develop from.
In the end, this MCG win joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the squad congregated on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, boys. It's well deserved.
