Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the MCG sits a neon pink outfit worn by the pop star. The show in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a triumph.
You might not enjoy the performer. You might think he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some hits are excellent while others are poor.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no one way to create literature or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The weather, the time of day, the red ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the wicket.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format broken apart and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the surface which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the wicket, resulting in 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the fast men. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are even more exciting owing to the time devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Certain variables are tolerated more easily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were prevented from playing their natural game.
The format is about adapting to challenges – assessing the situation and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged stars. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the MCG, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, producing a carnival vibe in a heartland of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers excelled, momentum when batters scored quickly, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and slow play. The latest encounter and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet historical weight can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the history books.
"It's not the end of Test cricket at all," observed a veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these short time have been experienced some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The team protected him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his countenance.
New faces performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph joins other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team congregated on the field to begin their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, boys. You've earned this one.
