Within a glass case on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a electric pink suit donned by the pop star. His performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was seen as a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a middle ground, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are poor.
The point being is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to produce art or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.
The weather, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the wicket.
If the format is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
This is not a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Having a thick layer on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is mistaken.
The long game is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and counting. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the investment made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were prevented from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – reading the situation and responding accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class players. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, producing a carnival vibe in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the bowlers surged, momentum when players fought back, and pure joy when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. Previously, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and slow play. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the range – one is not more the standard, yet value can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these two days have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team responded for him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his persona.
Different players delivered with key contributions. These are small positives, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players congregated on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, boys. You've earned this one.
