In a glass case on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink outfit worn by the entertainer. His performance in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a triumph.
You might not like the performer. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a middle ground, admitting that some songs are excellent while others are poor.
The point being is that enjoyment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to produce art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by conditions.
The climate, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the players create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game broken apart and reassembled in an unusual manner.
This is not a defence of the surface which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in 36 wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The format is a varied portfolio, a long history and still growing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are particularly captivating owing to the patience made elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are embraced more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the top batters were unable from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and adapting effectively. The two highest individual contributions were made by acknowledged stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the devotees who have suffered years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, countless fans waved their flags and sang their songs, fostering a carnival vibe in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers dominated, momentum when batters scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the result was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has a history with difficult wickets. In the past, a Test there featured a strip with all the life of a a non-event.
That fixture was a marathon, with limited drama and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither ideal, yet historical weight can be found in each.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the death of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been experienced some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The squad delivered for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents stepped up with vital performances. These are small positives, certainly not enough to secure long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this MCG win joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the outfield to commence their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
