Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG rests a electric pink suit donned by the entertainer. The concert in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some hits are fantastic while others are poor.
The point being is that entertainment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to create music or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon the environment.
The elements, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which resulted in a win and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, leading to numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The format 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. In contrast, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the time devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The True Test
Certain variables are tolerated more freely than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the wicket and responding accordingly. The top two individual innings were made by world-class batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the ground, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of sport.
There was hope as the fielding side dominated, momentum when the top order responded, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more perfect, yet value can be found in them.
At this stage into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of the format at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The team protected him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his face.
New faces stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to develop from.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the team assembled on the turf to commence their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, lads. It's well deserved.
