Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a vibrant pink ensemble donned by the pop star. The concert in front of 100,024 attendees was considered a success.
It's possible you like the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a middle ground, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the pitch.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the athletes create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport taken to pieces and reassembled in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which produced a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Having a thick layer on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The close matches are even more exciting owing to the time made during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the balance was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the wicket and adapting appropriately. The best individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the fans who have endured years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the stadium, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, fostering a carnival vibe in a stronghold of sport.
There was hope as the attack surged, momentum when players fought back, and rapturous celebration when the win was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. Previously, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a grind, with few wickets and interminable tedium. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more ideal, yet value can be attached to each.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the memory.
"It's not the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The squad delivered for him, bringing back the joy to his face.
Emerging talents delivered with key contributions. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to develop from.
At the very least, this triumph joins other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans departed into a beautiful night, the team gathered on the field to begin their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
