Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink suit worn by the pop star. The concert in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a triumph.
You might not enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some hits are excellent while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement 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 Test Format
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on external factors.
The weather, the session, the red ball – the list is endless. Above all is the pitch.
If the format is art, the wicket is the foundation on which the players create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
This is not a endorsement of the wicket which produced a win and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Having 10mm of grass on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
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 not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The long game is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and ongoing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The close matches are all the more thrilling because of the time made in other matches.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the wicket and responding effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by recognized stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the ground, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was belief as the fielding side surged, momentum when batters responded, and rapturous celebration when the win was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a wicket with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a slog, with minimal action and slow play. The latest encounter and that slow Test are polar opposites of the spectrum – neither ideal, yet historical weight can be found in both.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the death of Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The players responded for him, bringing back the joy to his countenance.
Different players delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a foundation to use as a platform.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans departed into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the turf to commence their own festivities.
Savour the moment, men. This victory was hard-fought.
