In a showcase on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a neon pink suit performed in by the entertainer. His show in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a success.
It's possible you appreciate his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is no one way to create art or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by conditions.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the pitch which resulted in a triumph and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Having excessive grass on the wicket, resulting in numerous dismissals tumbling in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and counting. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Other times, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the patience made in other matches.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Certain variables are embraced more freely than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and responding appropriately. The two highest individual innings were made by recognized batters. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the ground, thousands celebrated and created an atmosphere, producing a festive mood in a bastion of national pride.
There was belief as the fielding side dominated, advantage when batters fought back, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a strip with all the life of a a non-event.
That contest was a grind, with few wickets and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the scale – neither ideal, yet historical weight can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the end of Test cricket at all," observed a former player. "Fans who have been privileged to see these short time have been experienced some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The team delivered for him, restoring the smile to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with crucial roles. These are small positives, not nearly enough to secure long-term stability, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this triumph takes its place among other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a stunning sunset, the team assembled on the outfield to begin their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, men. You've earned this one.
