Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink outfit performed in by the entertainer. The performance in front of 100,024 fans was considered a triumph.
You might not enjoy the performer. You might think he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, acknowledging that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no one way to create music or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the wicket.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the foundation on which the cricketers create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which produced a win and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Leaving a thick layer on the surface, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and ongoing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. In contrast, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are particularly captivating because of the investment devoted elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are embraced more easily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the situation and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual innings were made by recognized players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the stadium, thousands celebrated and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was hope as the fielding side dominated, momentum when batters responded, and unconditional love when the victory was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a match there featured a strip with the character of a a damp squib.
That match was a grind, with few wickets and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – both are not the standard, yet historical weight can be found in each.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the history books.
"Far from being the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The team responded for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
Different players performed with vital performances. These are baby steps, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but a foundation to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players congregated on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
