Within a glass case on the elevated floor of the MCG sits a neon pink ensemble performed in by the pop star. His concert in front of a hundred thousand attendees was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The point being is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft art or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on external factors.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the wicket which produced a triumph and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and ongoing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Other times, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The close matches are particularly captivating because of the patience devoted during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and adapting appropriately. The best individual scores were made by world-class stars. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the fielding side excelled, impetus when batters scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a match there featured a wicket with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a slog, with limited drama and slow play. The latest encounter and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be found in both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of the format at all," commented a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The players responded for him, reinstating the joy to his countenance.
Different players delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a foundation to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph joins other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the team assembled on the turf to commence their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
