Within a glass case on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a neon pink outfit performed in by the pop star. His performance in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a success.
It's possible you like the performer. You might think he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some hits are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft art or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the wicket.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the wicket which produced a triumph and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the surface, causing numerous dismissals being taken in less than two days, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and ongoing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the patience made in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are embraced more freely than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and adapting effectively. The best individual contributions were made by recognized stars. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the stadium, thousands made noise and sang their songs, generating a carnival vibe in a stronghold of national pride.
There was belief as the attack excelled, advantage when the top order scored quickly, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a a damp squib.
That match was a grind, with limited drama and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the scale – neither the standard, yet significance can be attached to them.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the memory.
"It's not the demise of the long game at all," commented a former player. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players protected him, reinstating the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with vital performances. These are baby steps, hardly enough to guarantee long-term success, but something to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the outfield to commence their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, men. This victory was hard-fought.
