In a display cabinet on the third floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink suit worn by the pop star. His show in front of a massive crowd of fans was seen as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, conceding that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.
The central idea is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the foundation on which the athletes create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the surface which resulted in a triumph and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Having excessive grass on the surface, resulting in a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the time made in other matches.
Adaptation: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and responding effectively. The top two individual scores were made by world-class batters. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, thousands made noise and sang their songs, producing a festive mood in a stronghold of national pride.
There was belief as the bowlers dominated, momentum when players scored quickly, and unconditional love when the win was secured.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more the standard, yet value can be found in each.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the history books.
"It's not the demise of the format at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been experienced some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The team delivered for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are baby steps, hardly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a foundation to use as a platform.
In the end, this triumph joins other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters departed into a beautiful night, the team gathered on the outfield to begin their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
