Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink outfit donned by the entertainer. His show in front of a massive crowd of fans was seen as a major hit.
You might not enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, admitting that some songs are fantastic while others are poor.
The point being is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no one way to create art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The elements, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and reassembled in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, leading to a cascade of wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and ongoing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Other times, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The close matches are particularly captivating because of the patience made elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and responding accordingly. The two highest individual innings were made by world-class stars. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the stadium, thousands waved their flags and created an atmosphere, generating a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was hope as the attack dominated, impetus when the top order scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the win was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a game there featured a wicket with all the life of a a damp squib.
That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that slow Test are polar opposites of the scale – neither ideal, yet value can be found in each.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The squad responded for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his persona.
Different players delivered with crucial roles. These are small positives, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this MCG win is added to other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the squad assembled on the turf to begin their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. This victory was hard-fought.
