In a showcase on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a vibrant pink suit worn by the pop star. The show in front of a massive crowd of fans was considered a success.
It's possible you appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, admitting that some songs are excellent while others are poor.
The key argument is that amusement can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to create music or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon external factors.
The elements, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport dismantled and reassembled in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which resulted in a win and the another short match of the contest.
Having a thick layer on the pitch, resulting in 36 wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. In contrast, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The close matches are particularly captivating owing to the investment devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and responding effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by recognized players. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the fans who have experienced a long drought that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the stadium, a sea of people waved their flags and chanted, generating a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers excelled, impetus when players responded, and pure joy when the win was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a slog, with minimal action and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more the standard, yet value can be attached to both.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the memory.
"This isn't the death of the long game at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players responded for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Different players performed with key contributions. These are small positives, certainly not enough to secure long-term futures, but a starting point to use as a platform.
In the end, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players congregated on the field to start their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, men. You've earned this one.
