Within a showcase on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink suit donned by the pop star. The performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no one way to produce music or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon external factors.
The weather, the time of day, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport broken apart and reconstructed in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the pitch which produced a win and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the wicket, leading to 36 wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, a long history and still growing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating due to the patience devoted elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and responding accordingly. The best individual scores were made by acknowledged stars. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the MCG, countless fans celebrated and chanted, generating a party atmosphere in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the fielding side excelled, impetus when batters fought back, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a match there featured a wicket with all the life of a a non-event.
That match was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that previous match are polar opposites of the range – one is not more ideal, yet value can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the death of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The players responded for him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his face.
Different players stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph joins other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters slipped away into a beautiful night, the squad congregated on the field to start their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
