Within a glass case on the third floor of the MCG rests a neon pink outfit performed in by the entertainer. His show in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a triumph.
You might not like his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, conceding that some songs are belting while others are poor.
The central idea is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no one way to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by conditions.
The weather, the hour of play, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the playing surface.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the foundation on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the wicket, leading to numerous dismissals falling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and ongoing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the investment devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are tolerated more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about adapting to challenges – assessing the wicket and adapting accordingly. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the fans who have endured a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the ground, a sea of people waved their flags and chanted, generating a party atmosphere in a stronghold of national pride.
There was hope as the fielding side dominated, impetus when the top order responded, and unconditional love when the win was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a match there featured a strip with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a slog, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – one is not more the standard, yet value can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the death of the format at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The team responded for him, restoring the joy to his face.
Emerging talents stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but something to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans slipped away into a beautiful night, the players congregated on the outfield to start their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
