Within a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink outfit worn by the pop star. His show in front of a massive crowd of spectators was seen as a triumph.
You might not like the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, conceding that some songs are belting while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no one way to create art or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
This is not a endorsement of the surface which resulted in a triumph and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the surface, leading to a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Other times, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the patience made in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
The format is about adapting to challenges – assessing the wicket and adjusting appropriately. The best individual contributions were made by acknowledged stars. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the fans who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the MCG, countless fans celebrated and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack dominated, advantage when batters responded, and pure joy when the victory was achieved.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and slow play. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more perfect, yet value can be attached to each.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the death of the format at all," said a veteran. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The team protected him, bringing back the smile to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with key contributions. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.
At the very least, this MCG win is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the turf to begin their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, boys. It's well deserved.
