In a showcase on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a vibrant pink suit performed in by the entertainer. His performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft music or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by conditions.
The weather, the session, 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 players paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
This is not a justification of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another short match of the series.
Having a thick layer on the surface, leading to numerous dismissals being taken in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are all the more thrilling because of the investment committed during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were prevented from showcasing their talents.
The format is about problem solving – reading the wicket and responding appropriately. The best individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans celebrated and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was optimism as the fielding side dominated, impetus when the top order responded, and pure joy when the win was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has form with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – both are not the standard, yet historical weight can be found in them.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team delivered for him, reinstating the smile to his countenance.
Different players delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but a foundation to develop from.
In the end, this triumph is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the team gathered on the field to start their own festivities.
Savour the moment, men. This victory was hard-fought.
