Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a neon pink outfit performed in by the entertainer. The concert in front of 100,024 fans was considered a triumph.
It's possible you appreciate his music. You might think he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a middle ground, acknowledging that some hits are fantastic while others are poor.
The point being is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to produce literature or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on conditions.
The climate, the time of day, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the foundation on which the players create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the surface which produced a triumph and the second two-day Test of the series.
Having 10mm of grass on the wicket, leading to 36 wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and ongoing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are even more exciting owing to the time made in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Some factors are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and adapting accordingly. The top two individual innings were made by world-class players. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered a long drought that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, countless fans waved their flags and sang their songs, generating a carnival vibe in a stronghold of national pride.
There was hope as the bowlers excelled, momentum when players scored quickly, and unconditional love when the win was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. Previously, a Test there featured a pitch with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and interminable tedium. This recent match and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the scale – both are not ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to each.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the memory.
"Far from being the death of Test cricket at all," observed a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some genuine drama. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team responded for him, bringing back the joy to his face.
Different players delivered with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term futures, but a starting point to use as a platform.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a stunning sunset, the team assembled on the field to commence their own festivities.
Savour the moment, men. You've earned this one.
