Within a display cabinet on the upper level of the MCG sits a electric pink ensemble worn by the pop star. The concert in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a success.
You might not appreciate the performer. You might think he is the ultimate present to music known to man. You might take a middle ground, acknowledging that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no one way to craft art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
This is not a endorsement of the pitch which yielded a victory and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Leaving a thick layer on the surface, leading to numerous dismissals falling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and ongoing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling due to the time committed during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – reading the conditions and adjusting accordingly. The best individual innings were made by world-class batters. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, thousands waved their flags and chanted, producing a festive mood in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack dominated, advantage when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with difficult wickets. Previously, a match there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a slog, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the scale – both are not ideal, yet significance can be attached to both.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the history books.
"Far from being the demise of the long game at all," said a veteran. "Fans who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been treated to some genuine drama. A unique show."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad protected him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Emerging talents delivered with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to ensure long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this MCG win is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the turf to begin their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, lads. It's well deserved.
