Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG sits a neon pink ensemble performed in by the entertainer. The show in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a triumph.
You might not enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a balanced view, admitting that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no one way to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the pitch.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the canvas on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the great game broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the wicket which resulted in a win and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, resulting in a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The long game is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and counting. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it turns square on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The close matches are even more exciting due to the investment committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Certain variables are tolerated more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the conditions and responding effectively. The best individual scores were made by recognized players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the supporters who have endured 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the stadium, thousands waved their flags and sang their songs, producing a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, advantage when the top order fought back, and rapturous celebration when the victory was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with controversial surfaces. Previously, a match there featured a strip with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that previous match are polar opposites of the spectrum – neither perfect, yet value can be found in them.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been treated to some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his face.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to develop from.
Ultimately, this triumph takes its place among other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the outfield to commence their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, lads. You've earned this one.
