Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink suit worn by the entertainer. The show in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music in history. You might take a middle ground, acknowledging that some tracks are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that amusement can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon external factors.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the list is endless. Above all is the pitch.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the foundation on which the players craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the established format broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the surface which produced a win and the another short match of the series.
Having 10mm of grass on the surface, leading to a cascade of wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling because of the patience devoted during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the conditions and adapting accordingly. The best individual scores were made by recognized batters. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the supporters who have endured 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, thousands waved their flags and chanted, generating a festive mood in a bastion of national pride.
There was belief as the attack dominated, impetus when the top order fought back, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – one is not more the standard, yet historical weight can be ascribed to both.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the death of the format at all," observed a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the captain spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad responded for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Different players delivered with key contributions. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term success, but something to build on.
In the end, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the team congregated on the field to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, men. This victory was hard-fought.
