Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink ensemble donned by the pop star. The performance in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a triumph.
You might not enjoy his music. You might think he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, admitting that some hits are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no one way to craft art or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.
The weather, the time of day, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the format is a form of art, the strip is the foundation on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game broken apart and reassembled in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the pitch which produced a win and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Other times, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are particularly captivating due to the investment made in other matches.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from showcasing their talents.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and responding effectively. The best individual scores were made by recognized players. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have endured 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, countless fans waved their flags and created an atmosphere, generating a carnival vibe in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the bowlers surged, momentum when batters responded, and pure joy when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a grind, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the scale – neither ideal, yet significance can be attached to each.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these short time have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The squad protected him, restoring the joy to his face.
Different players performed with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a starting point to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the outfield to begin their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
