Within a glass case on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink suit worn by the pop star. The show in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a success.
It's possible you like his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, admitting that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no one way to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.
The elements, the time of day, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is a form of art, the pitch is the foundation on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
This is not a endorsement of the surface which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the wicket, resulting in 36 wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and ongoing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the investment made during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and adjusting effectively. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, a sea of people made noise and chanted, generating a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the bowlers surged, impetus when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has form with difficult wickets. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with the character 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 – one is not more ideal, yet historical weight can be ascribed to both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of the format at all," observed a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The team responded for him, bringing back the smile to his face.
New faces stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to ensure long-term futures, but a starting point to build on.
Ultimately, this MCG win takes its place among other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a beautiful night, the squad assembled on the turf to start their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
