Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the MCG sits a electric pink suit donned by the entertainer. His concert in front of a hundred thousand fans was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like his music. You might think he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a middle ground, acknowledging that some songs are belting while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to craft art or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the pitch.
If the long game is art, the pitch is the canvas on which the players create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which yielded a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Having 10mm of grass on the wicket, causing a cascade of wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The close matches are particularly captivating because of the patience committed in other matches.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the top batters were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the devotees who have experienced years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the MCG, countless fans made noise and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of sport.
There was optimism as the attack dominated, advantage when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with controversial surfaces. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet value can be attached to each.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the history books.
"It's not the death of the long game at all," commented a former player. "Fans who have been privileged to see these short time have been experienced some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The squad delivered for him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Different players stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team assembled on the outfield to commence their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
