Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a neon pink outfit worn by the entertainer. His concert in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you appreciate the performer. You might think he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to create art or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the wicket.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the surface which yielded a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the wicket, resulting in 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. Other times, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the investment made elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Specific conditions 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 best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – reading the wicket and adjusting appropriately. The two highest individual innings were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the supporters who have endured a long drought that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the ground, countless fans made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers excelled, impetus when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has form with difficult wickets. In the past, a game there featured a wicket with all the life of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – both are not perfect, yet historical weight can be attached to both.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the memory.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," observed a former player. "The people who have been privileged to see these short time have been treated to some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The squad protected him, restoring the positive demeanor to his countenance.
New faces performed with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but a starting point to develop from.
In the end, this MCG win joins other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the fans left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad gathered on the outfield to start their own festivities.
Savour the moment, men. You've earned this one.
