In a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink outfit performed in by the entertainer. The show in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a success.
You might not like his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some hits are fantastic while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is no one way to craft literature or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon conditions.
The climate, the time of day, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the players create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which resulted in a victory and the another short match of the series.
Having a thick layer on the pitch, leading to a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, a long history and ongoing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Other times, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are particularly captivating owing to the patience devoted elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the conditions and adjusting appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the supporters who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the ground, a sea of people celebrated and sang their songs, generating a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers surged, impetus when batters responded, and unconditional love when the result was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a a non-event.
That fixture was a slog, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that previous match are extreme ends of the spectrum – both are not ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to them.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," observed a former player. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this match, the leader spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team protected him, restoring the smile to his persona.
Emerging talents delivered with key contributions. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term stability, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this triumph takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans slipped away into a beautiful night, the players congregated on the turf to commence their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, men. This victory was hard-fought.
