Displayed inside a glass case on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a neon pink suit worn by the entertainer. His concert in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. You might think he is the ultimate present to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are awful.
The point being is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no one way to produce art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by external factors.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
This is not a endorsement of the pitch which yielded a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Having excessive grass on the surface, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the ball does all sorts for the seamers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling because of the time made elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Certain variables are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – reading the conditions and adjusting effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by acknowledged players. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the fans who have suffered 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands waved their flags and created an atmosphere, fostering a party atmosphere in a heartland of national pride.
There was hope as the fielding side excelled, advantage when players scored quickly, and pure joy when the win was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be ascribed to them.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the history books.
"Far from being the death of Test cricket at all," observed a former player. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some genuine drama. A unique show."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The players delivered for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the players congregated on the field to begin their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, men. This victory was hard-fought.
