In a showcase on the elevated floor of the MCG rests a electric pink suit performed in by the pop star. His show in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a success.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, conceding that some hits are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon external factors.
The weather, the hour of play, the red ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the canvas on which the players create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the pitch which yielded a triumph and the another short match of the series.
Leaving a thick layer on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The format is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and ongoing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the time devoted in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are accepted more readily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and adjusting appropriately. The two highest individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Try telling the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the stadium, thousands waved their flags and chanted, generating a party atmosphere in a stronghold of national pride.
There was hope as the bowlers surged, momentum when the top order fought back, and rapturous celebration when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. In the past, a game there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a non-event.
That match was a grind, with minimal action and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that slow Test are polar opposites of the range – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be found in them.
At this stage into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of Test cricket at all," said a former player. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the smile to his face.
New faces stepped up with vital performances. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term futures, but a starting point to develop from.
In the end, this triumph is added to other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad gathered on the turf to begin their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
