Within a glass case on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a electric pink ensemble worn by the entertainer. His concert in front of a hundred thousand attendees was hailed as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like his music. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music known to man. You might take a middle ground, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft music or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by the environment.
The climate, the time of day, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the wicket.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport taken to pieces and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which yielded a triumph and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is mistaken.
The long game is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the time committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Certain variables are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the top batters were prevented from showcasing their talents.
The format is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the conditions and responding appropriately. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Try telling the supporters who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the ground, countless fans celebrated and chanted, generating a festive mood in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the fielding side excelled, advantage when batters scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the victory was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet historical weight can be ascribed to each.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the memory.
"It's not the death of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his countenance.
Emerging talents stepped up with key contributions. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the team assembled on the outfield to begin their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, men. You've earned this one.
