In a glass case on the third floor of the MCG sits a vibrant pink ensemble worn by the pop star. The concert in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a major hit.
Perhaps you don't like his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, admitting that some songs are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create literature or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on the environment.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the playing surface.
If the format is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the cricketers create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game taken to pieces and stuck back together in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the pitch which produced a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Leaving a thick layer on the pitch, leading to a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and counting. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling because of the investment committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more freely than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the best players were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the conditions and adjusting appropriately. The best individual innings were made by world-class players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.
There was optimism as the attack dominated, momentum when players responded, and pure joy when the victory was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a wicket with the character of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a grind, with few wickets and slow play. This recent match and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the range – neither ideal, yet value can be found in each.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," said a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team responded for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Different players stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans left into a beautiful night, the players assembled on the field to start their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
