Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink outfit donned by the pop star. His performance in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a major hit.
It's possible you appreciate the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. You might take a middle ground, admitting that some tracks are fantastic while others are awful.
The point being is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to create literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on the environment.
The climate, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game broken apart and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the pitch which yielded a victory and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the wicket, causing 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are particularly captivating due to the time made elsewhere.
Adaptation: The True Test
Some factors are tolerated more easily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual scores were made by world-class stars. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the fans who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the MCG, thousands waved their flags and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the fielding side dominated, advantage when the top order fought back, and unconditional love when the victory was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. In the past, a game there featured a wicket with all the life of a a non-event.
That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – both are not the standard, yet value can be attached to them.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the death of Test cricket at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been experienced some real entertainment. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the captain spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The squad protected him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his persona.
Emerging talents stepped up with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term success, but a foundation to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team gathered on the outfield to start their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, lads. You've earned this one.
