Displayed inside a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a vibrant pink ensemble performed in by the entertainer. The performance in front of a hundred thousand attendees was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music in history. Or you could adopt a middle ground, acknowledging that some songs are belting while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to create literature or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Above all is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the established format broken apart and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which resulted in a win and the another short match of the series.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the patience committed elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the conditions and adapting appropriately. The best individual innings were made by recognized players. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the stadium, a sea of people waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the fielding side surged, advantage when players responded, and pure joy when the win was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that previous match are extreme ends of the scale – both are not the standard, yet historical weight can be found in both.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the end of the format at all," commented a veteran. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these two days have been treated to some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The team protected him, reinstating the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters left into a stunning sunset, the squad congregated on the turf to commence their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, men. It's well deserved.
