Displayed inside a glass case on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a neon pink ensemble worn by the pop star. His show in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, admitting that some hits are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by conditions.
The weather, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the strip is the foundation on which the athletes create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Having excessive grass on the wicket, leading to a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The long game is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and still growing. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the investment committed in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are tolerated more freely than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the conditions and responding effectively. The best individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, generating a festive mood in a heartland of national pride.
There was belief as the attack dominated, momentum when the top order fought back, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has form with pitch problems. In the past, a Test there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are polar opposites of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet historical weight can be found in them.
At this stage into the current series, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been experienced some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the leader spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The players responded for him, reinstating the smile to his countenance.
Emerging talents stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this triumph is added to other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players assembled on the field to begin their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, men. This victory was hard-fought.
