Displayed inside a glass case on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a neon pink outfit worn by the pop star. The show in front of a massive crowd of attendees was considered a major hit.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.
The elements, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the surface which yielded a triumph and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Leaving excessive grass on the surface, leading to numerous dismissals being taken in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The long game is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling because of the time devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and responding accordingly. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was belief as the attack surged, momentum when batters scored quickly, and unconditional love when the win was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a match there featured a strip with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and slow play. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more the standard, yet value can be found in each.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the history books.
"It's not the end of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The players protected him, bringing back the smile to his countenance.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a stunning sunset, the team gathered on the turf to commence their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. You've earned this one.
