Displayed inside a glass case on the third floor of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink ensemble performed in by the pop star. His concert in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a middle ground, acknowledging that some hits are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create literature or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon conditions.
The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the foundation on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the established format dismantled and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
This is not a defence of the pitch which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Leaving a thick layer on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
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 mistaken.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and ongoing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting because of the investment made in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are tolerated more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the balance was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about finding solutions – reading the conditions and adapting effectively. The top two individual scores were made by recognized players. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have endured years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the ground, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, momentum when batters scored quickly, and pure joy when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a pitch with all the life of a a non-event.
That fixture was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet historical weight can be attached to them.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the death of the format at all," observed a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been experienced some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The team protected him, bringing back the joy to his countenance.
Different players delivered with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players gathered on the turf to begin their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, lads. It's well deserved.
