Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the MCG rests a vibrant pink ensemble worn by the pop star. The performance in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a major hit.
You might not like his music. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. You might take a middle ground, conceding that some tracks are belting while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft music or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the hour of play, the ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the pitch.
If the format is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the surface which resulted in a victory and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Having a thick layer on the wicket, resulting in numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and counting. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are even more exciting because of the time made elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Certain variables are embraced more freely than others.
The debate in during the match was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the attack. That the top batters were unable from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about problem solving – reading the conditions and responding effectively. The top two individual scores were made by world-class batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the MCG, thousands made noise and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers surged, advantage when the top order scored quickly, and unconditional love when the victory was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with pitch problems. Previously, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. This recent match and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the spectrum – neither the standard, yet value can be attached to each.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"Far from being the death of Test cricket at all," said a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the smile to his face.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are small positives, not nearly enough to secure long-term success, but something to develop from.
In the end, this triumph joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters left into a stunning sunset, the squad congregated on the outfield to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
