In a display cabinet on the upper level of the MCG is housed a neon pink outfit donned by the pop star. His performance in front of 100,024 attendees was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, admitting that some songs are belting while others are poor.
The central idea is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to create music or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon conditions.
The climate, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the wicket which yielded a triumph and the another short match of the contest.
Having a thick layer on the surface, causing numerous dismissals tumbling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and counting. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are particularly captivating because of the time committed in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by recognized players. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, countless fans celebrated and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a heartland of national pride.
There was optimism as the attack surged, momentum when players responded, and pure joy when the win was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a grind, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – both are not the standard, yet significance can be attached to them.
At this stage into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the history books.
"This isn't the death of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The team responded for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents stepped up with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term success, but a starting point to develop from.
Ultimately, this triumph takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans slipped away into a beautiful night, the players assembled on the field to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
