Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the MCG sits a vibrant pink outfit performed in by the entertainer. The show in front of a massive crowd of fans was hailed as a success.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, conceding that some songs are belting while others are poor.
The point being is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to create music or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the wicket which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving a thick layer on the pitch, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is mistaken.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are even more exciting owing to the time devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the top batters were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about adapting to challenges – assessing the conditions and responding appropriately. The top two individual innings were made by recognized batters. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people waved their flags and sang their songs, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of sport.
There was optimism as the fielding side surged, advantage when the top order fought back, and unconditional love when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with difficult wickets. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet historical weight can be attached to them.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the memory.
"This isn't the end of Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been treated to some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The team responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Different players performed with crucial roles. These are small positives, certainly not enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd departed into a stunning sunset, the squad gathered on the turf to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
