Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a neon pink ensemble performed in by the pop star. His show in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a success.
It's possible you appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. You might take a middle ground, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are poor.
The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft literature or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and reassembled in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the pitch which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the surface, causing a cascade of wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the seamers. Other times, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the investment devoted elsewhere.
Adaptation: The True Test
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and adjusting accordingly. The top two individual scores were made by world-class players. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the fans who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the stadium, thousands waved their flags and created an atmosphere, fostering a festive mood in a heartland of national pride.
There was hope as the fielding side surged, momentum when the top order fought back, and unconditional love when the win was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a game there featured a wicket with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are extreme ends of the range – neither perfect, yet value can be attached to both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," said a past champion. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been experienced some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The players responded for him, restoring the joy to his countenance.
Different players performed with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team congregated on the field to commence their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
