In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a vibrant pink outfit performed in by the entertainer. His concert in front of 100,024 attendees was considered a triumph.
Perhaps you don't appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The point being is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no one way to create literature or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon conditions.
The weather, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the pitch.
If the long game is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which produced a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. Other times, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the patience devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more easily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the contest was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and responding accordingly. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the supporters who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the stadium, a sea of people waved their flags and chanted, fostering a carnival vibe in a heartland of sport.
There was belief as the attack dominated, impetus when players fought back, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That contest was a slog, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet value can be found in each.
Deep into the series 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 Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been treated to some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The squad responded for him, restoring the joy to his face.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but a starting point to build on.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans slipped away into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, lads. It's well deserved.
