Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink ensemble worn by the pop star. The show in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't like the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some hits are excellent while others are poor.
The key argument is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The elements, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
This is not a justification of the surface which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, leading to a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is mistaken.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and ongoing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. Other times, it spins sharply on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The close matches are even more exciting because of the investment made during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
The format is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and responding appropriately. The two highest individual innings were made by world-class batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the fans who have endured a long drought that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, countless fans celebrated and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a heartland of national pride.
There was hope as the attack surged, momentum when players fought back, and rapturous celebration when the victory was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a slog, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that slow Test are extreme ends of the range – neither perfect, yet historical weight can be ascribed to each.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the history books.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The team protected him, reinstating the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents stepped up with vital performances. These are baby steps, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a starting point to build on.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the outfield to start their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, boys. You've earned this one.
