Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink ensemble performed in by the entertainer. His show in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a success.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the wicket.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which produced a triumph and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Having a thick layer on the surface, leading to a cascade of wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The long game is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and counting. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting because of the investment committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – reading the situation and responding effectively. The best individual innings were made by world-class stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people made noise and chanted, generating a festive mood in a bastion of national pride.
There was belief as the attack dominated, momentum when the top order fought back, and rapturous celebration when the win was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with pitch problems. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – neither ideal, yet historical weight can be attached to them.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the memory.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The squad protected him, restoring the smile to his face.
Emerging talents stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to build on.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters departed into a stunning sunset, the players congregated on the outfield to begin their own festivities.
Savour the moment, boys. It's well deserved.
