Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a vibrant pink suit worn by the pop star. The performance in front of a massive crowd of fans was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a middle ground, acknowledging that some hits are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the red ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.
If the long game is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the established format dismantled and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which yielded a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, leading to numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and ongoing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the patience made during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the top batters were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the situation and adapting accordingly. The two highest individual scores were made by recognized players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, thousands celebrated and created an atmosphere, producing a festive mood in a bastion of national pride.
There was optimism as the attack surged, momentum when the top order responded, and pure joy when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. In the past, a match there featured a strip with the character of a a damp squib.
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 spectrum – both are not the standard, yet value can be attached to each.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the memory.
"This isn't the end of the format at all," commented a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been treated to some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team delivered for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to develop from.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the team gathered on the field to begin their own festivities.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
