In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink outfit performed in by the entertainer. His concert in front of a hundred thousand fans was hailed as a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. You might think he is the ultimate present to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are awful.
The point being is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to produce literature or even the longest format.
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 reliant upon the environment.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the wicket.
If Test cricket is art, the strip is the foundation on which the players craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the wicket which produced a triumph and the another short match of the series.
Leaving a thick layer on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a varied portfolio, a long history and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are even more exciting due to the time committed elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the balance was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the top batters were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the conditions and responding accordingly. The top two individual scores were made by world-class players. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the fans who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, countless fans made noise and chanted, producing a carnival vibe in a stronghold of national pride.
There was optimism as the fielding side surged, momentum when batters responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has a history with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a match there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a non-event.
That match was a grind, with few wickets and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more the standard, yet value can be ascribed to both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the history books.
"Far from being the demise of the long game at all," said a former player. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The team delivered for him, reinstating the smile to his persona.
New faces performed with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a starting point to build on.
Ultimately, this triumph is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the squad assembled on the field to start their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, lads. You've earned this one.
