In a glass case on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink outfit worn by the entertainer. The performance in front of a massive crowd of fans was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some songs are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to produce literature or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on conditions.
The climate, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
This is not a endorsement of the surface which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the series.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and still growing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the ball does all sorts for the seamers. Other times, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating because of the time committed during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more easily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the contest was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the conditions and adapting accordingly. The best individual contributions were made by recognized players. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of national pride.
There was hope as the bowlers dominated, advantage when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a slog, with limited drama and slow play. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the range – both are not ideal, yet value can be found in both.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the memory.
"It's not the death of the format at all," said a veteran. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: 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 players delivered for him, restoring the joy to his persona.
Different players stepped up with vital performances. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to secure long-term success, but a foundation to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph takes its place among other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans left into a beautiful night, the team gathered on the outfield to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
