In a display cabinet on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a neon pink outfit performed in by the pop star. His concert in front of a hundred thousand attendees was hailed as a triumph.
You might not enjoy the performer. You might think he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some tracks are excellent while others are poor.
The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce literature or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on the environment.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Above all is the wicket.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport dismantled and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the wicket which produced a victory and the another short match of the series.
Having excessive grass on the pitch, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The long game is a rich tapestry, a long history and ongoing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the seamers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the patience devoted elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are embraced more readily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the top batters were unable from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and adapting appropriately. The best individual innings were made by acknowledged batters. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the attack dominated, advantage when batters fought back, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has form with pitch problems. Previously, a match there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that previous match are extreme ends of the scale – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the memory.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The players protected him, restoring the smile to his face.
Different players stepped up with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to develop from.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans departed into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the turf to start their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, boys. You've earned this one.
