In a glass case on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink outfit worn by the pop star. His performance in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music in history. Or you could adopt a balanced view, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no one way to craft art or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon conditions.
The weather, the time of day, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the wicket which yielded a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Allowing a thick layer on the pitch, causing 36 wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the seamers. In contrast, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are even more exciting because of the investment devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are embraced more readily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the top batters were unable from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and responding appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by recognized players. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of national pride.
There was belief as the attack surged, momentum when players scored quickly, and pure joy when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. Previously, a match there featured a pitch with the character of a a damp squib.
That match was a grind, with minimal action and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are polar opposites of the range – neither perfect, yet historical weight can be attached to them.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the end of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
New faces stepped up with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this MCG win takes its place among other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players assembled on the field to begin their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, lads. It's well deserved.
