Displayed inside a showcase on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a vibrant pink suit donned by the pop star. The concert in front of a massive crowd of attendees was hailed as a triumph.
You might not enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some songs are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to produce music or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon conditions.
The elements, the hour of play, the red ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport taken to pieces and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the surface which yielded a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Having excessive grass on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and counting. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting due to the patience devoted during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and adapting accordingly. The best individual contributions were made by acknowledged players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the devotees who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans celebrated and created an atmosphere, generating a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack dominated, momentum when players fought back, and pure joy when the win was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a match there featured a wicket with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a slog, with few wickets and endless boredom. The two-day game and that slow Test are polar opposites of the spectrum – both are not perfect, yet value can be attached to both.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the memory.
"It's not the demise of Test cricket at all," observed a former player. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been experienced some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The squad responded for him, reinstating the smile to his countenance.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but a starting point to build on.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory is added to other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad assembled on the turf to start their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, boys. It's well deserved.
