Displayed inside a glass case on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a vibrant pink ensemble performed in by the pop star. His performance in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. You might think he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, admitting that some hits are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft music or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by conditions.
The weather, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the pitch.
If the format is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport dismantled and reassembled in abstract form.
This is not a endorsement of the surface which yielded a victory and the another short match of the contest.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in 36 wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating due to the time committed in other matches.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Some factors are accepted more easily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the balance was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
The format is about problem solving – reading the situation and responding accordingly. The two highest individual scores were made by recognized players. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the fans who have suffered years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the stadium, a sea of people celebrated and sang their songs, generating a carnival vibe in a heartland of sport.
There was hope as the bowlers excelled, advantage when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are polar opposites of the range – neither ideal, yet significance can be attached to both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of the format at all," observed a former player. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been given some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The players responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a foundation to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this MCG win takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team gathered on the field to begin their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
