Displayed inside a showcase on the elevated floor of the MCG sits a electric pink outfit performed in by the pop star. His concert in front of a massive crowd of fans was considered a major hit.
Perhaps you don't like his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some hits are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is a form of art, the pitch is the foundation on which the athletes create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the surface which produced a win and the another short match of the contest.
Having a thick layer on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and counting. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting due to the investment made in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Some factors are embraced more easily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the conditions and responding effectively. The top two individual scores were made by recognized batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Try telling the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the ground, thousands celebrated and created an atmosphere, generating a party atmosphere in a heartland of national pride.
There was hope as the bowlers dominated, advantage when batters responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with difficult wickets. In the past, a Test there featured a pitch with all the life of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – both are not ideal, yet value can be attached to both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these two days have been treated to some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: 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 team responded for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his persona.
Different players delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term stability, but a starting point to develop from.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the fans slipped away into a beautiful night, the players assembled on the outfield to begin their own festivities.
Savour the moment, men. This victory was hard-fought.
