Displayed inside a showcase on the elevated floor of the MCG sits a electric pink ensemble performed in by the pop star. The concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was considered a major hit.
You might not like the performer. You might think he is the greatest gift to music known to man. You might take a middle ground, conceding that some hits are fantastic while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to craft art or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on conditions.
The elements, the time of day, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the pitch.
If the long game is art, the strip is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Allowing a thick layer on the pitch, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, a long history and counting. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are even more exciting due to the investment made in other matches.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Certain variables are tolerated more readily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the best players were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the conditions and responding appropriately. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class players. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the supporters who have endured 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the MCG, thousands made noise and created an atmosphere, fostering a party atmosphere in a heartland of national pride.
There was belief as the bowlers surged, advantage when players responded, and pure joy when the result was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a strip with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to them.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the end of the format at all," commented a past champion. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been given some genuine drama. A unique show."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The team responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his countenance.
New faces performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to develop from.
At the very least, this triumph joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players congregated on the outfield to start their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
