Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink outfit worn by the pop star. The concert in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a success.
You might not enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music in history. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some hits are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on the environment.
The elements, the hour of play, the red ball – the list is endless. Crucially 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 Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the wicket which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating due to the time committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
The format is about problem solving – reading the conditions and responding effectively. The top two individual scores were made by recognized stars. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have endured a long drought that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, thousands made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a festive mood in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers excelled, advantage when players scored quickly, and pure joy when the victory was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with pitch problems. In the past, a match there featured a strip with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – both are not the standard, yet historical weight can be attached to both.
At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been treated to some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad protected him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his persona.
New faces stepped up with vital performances. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this triumph joins other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the outfield to begin their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, men. This victory was hard-fought.
