In a glass case on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a vibrant pink outfit worn by the pop star. The show in front of 100,024 fans was considered a success.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some tracks are excellent while others are poor.
The point being is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft art or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on external factors.
The climate, the time of day, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and reassembled in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Having excessive grass on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and ongoing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the time made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and adapting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the supporters who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of national pride.
There was optimism as the attack dominated, impetus when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with controversial surfaces. In the past, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither the standard, yet historical weight can be found in them.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of the format at all," commented a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad responded for him, bringing back the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a starting point to develop from.
In the end, this triumph is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters departed into a stunning sunset, the players gathered on the outfield to begin their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, men. It's well deserved.
