In a showcase on the third floor of the MCG rests a electric pink ensemble donned by the pop star. His concert in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a success.
It's possible you appreciate his music. You might think he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. You might take a middle ground, admitting that some songs are excellent while others are awful.
The point being is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon the environment.
The weather, the time of day, the red ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the players paint their masterpiece.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the wicket which yielded a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Having 10mm of grass on the surface, resulting in a cascade of wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. In contrast, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the time devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and adapting effectively. The top two individual innings were made by recognized batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, thousands waved their flags and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a stronghold of national pride.
There was belief as the fielding side excelled, momentum when batters responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has a history with controversial surfaces. In the past, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a a non-event.
That contest was a grind, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are extreme ends of the range – both are not ideal, yet value can be found in them.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the memory.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been privileged to see these short time have been experienced some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the leader spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The team delivered for him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his countenance.
New faces stepped up with vital performances. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but a foundation to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this MCG win joins other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad assembled on the turf to begin their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
