In a glass case on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a neon pink outfit performed in by the entertainer. His performance in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a major hit.
It's possible you like the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no one way to craft literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on external factors.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.
If the long game is art, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
This is not a endorsement of the pitch which produced a victory and the another short match of the series.
Having excessive grass on the wicket, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the time devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are embraced more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and responding accordingly. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have suffered years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the MCG, thousands waved their flags and created an atmosphere, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was hope as the bowlers surged, advantage when the top order fought back, and rapturous celebration when the win was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a slog, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – neither perfect, yet value can be attached to each.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the history books.
"It's not the death of Test cricket at all," observed a former player. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been experienced some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the captain spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team protected him, reinstating the joy to his persona.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are small positives, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to build on.
In the end, this MCG win takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad gathered on the turf to begin their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, lads. You've earned this one.
