In a glass case on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a neon pink suit worn by the pop star. The show in front of a massive crowd of attendees was seen as a success.
You might not appreciate his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some songs are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to produce music or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the wicket.
If the format is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport broken apart and reconstructed in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the wicket which yielded a win and the another short match of the contest.
Allowing excessive grass on the surface, leading to a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the patience made elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are tolerated more freely than others.
The contention in during the match was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the top batters were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the conditions and adapting appropriately. The best individual contributions were made by world-class batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have experienced a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people waved their flags and sang their songs, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was belief as the fielding side dominated, momentum when players responded, and unconditional love when the result was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. In the past, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that previous match are extreme ends of the scale – both are not perfect, yet historical weight can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "The people who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team responded for him, reinstating the smile to his face.
Different players delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to ensure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters left into a stunning sunset, the team assembled on the outfield to begin their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. You've earned this one.
