Within a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink suit worn by the pop star. His concert in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music known to man. Or you could adopt a middle ground, admitting that some hits are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft art or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon the environment.
The elements, the hour of play, the red ball – the list is endless. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport taken to pieces and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the surface which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in 36 wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The close matches are even more exciting owing to the investment devoted during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Certain variables are embraced more easily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the contest 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 adapting accordingly. The best individual innings were made by acknowledged stars. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the fans who have experienced a long drought that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the MCG, countless fans waved their flags and created an atmosphere, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was hope as the attack dominated, advantage when the top order scored quickly, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has a history with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and slow play. The two-day game and that slow Test are extreme ends of the range – both are not ideal, yet historical weight can be found in them.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"It's not the demise of the long game at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team delivered for him, restoring the joy to his face.
Different players stepped up with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this MCG win joins other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters departed into a beautiful night, the squad assembled on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, lads. You've earned this one.
