Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a vibrant pink outfit donned by the pop star. His performance in front of a hundred thousand fans was seen as a success.
You might not enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create music or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.
The elements, the hour of play, the red ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the pitch.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the players create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
This is not a defence of the pitch which produced a triumph and the second two-day Test of the series.
Leaving a thick layer on the pitch, leading to numerous dismissals being taken in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and ongoing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are particularly captivating owing to the investment committed elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Certain variables are tolerated more readily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the top batters were unable from showcasing their talents.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the wicket and adapting appropriately. The best individual scores were made by world-class players. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Try telling the fans who have experienced years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the MCG, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, fostering a carnival vibe in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack excelled, momentum when players responded, and unconditional love when the win was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a match there featured a pitch with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with few wickets and interminable tedium. This recent match and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the spectrum – one is not more perfect, yet value can be found in them.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the history books.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been privileged to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. A unique show."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The squad responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his persona.
Emerging talents performed with crucial roles. These are small positives, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.
In the end, this triumph takes its place among other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the squad gathered on the turf to commence their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, men. It's well deserved.
