Within a showcase on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a vibrant pink ensemble donned by the pop star. His performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some songs are excellent while others are poor.
The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by the environment.
The elements, the time of day, the red ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the foundation on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game taken to pieces and reassembled in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which resulted in a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. Sometimes, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the time committed in other matches.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more easily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the wicket and responding accordingly. The two highest individual scores were made by recognized batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the devotees who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the ground, a sea of people made noise and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the fielding side excelled, impetus when players fought back, and unconditional love when the win was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has form with controversial surfaces. In the past, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.
That match was a grind, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that slow Test are polar opposites of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet value can be ascribed to them.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the demise of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team delivered for him, restoring the joy to his face.
New faces stepped up with key contributions. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team assembled on the field to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, lads. You've earned this one.
