Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink outfit donned by the entertainer. His performance in front of a hundred thousand fans was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no one way to create literature or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the time of day, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the pitch.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the players craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and reassembled in an unusual manner.
This is not a endorsement of the wicket which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Having excessive grass on the wicket, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and ongoing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are even more exciting owing to the patience made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the situation and adapting appropriately. The best individual innings were made by acknowledged players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the ground, countless fans made noise and chanted, producing a carnival vibe in a stronghold of sport.
There was belief as the attack surged, advantage when players fought back, and pure joy when the victory was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a marathon, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – neither perfect, yet significance can be found in each.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the death of the format at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents delivered with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but a foundation to use as a platform.
In the end, this triumph takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team assembled on the outfield to commence their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. You've earned this one.
