Within a display cabinet on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a electric pink outfit performed in by the pop star. His show in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are poor.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to produce art or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the long game is a form of art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and stuck back together in abstract form.
This is not a endorsement of the surface which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the surface, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than a brief period, 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 inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and ongoing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting due to the investment committed in other matches.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were prevented from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the wicket and adjusting appropriately. The two highest individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the supporters who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the stadium, countless fans celebrated and sang their songs, producing a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack surged, momentum when players scored quickly, and unconditional love when the result was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a strip with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a grind, with minimal action and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that slow Test are polar opposites of the scale – neither perfect, yet significance can be found in both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The team protected him, reinstating the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a foundation to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the squad congregated on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, lads. It's well deserved.
