Displayed inside a glass case on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a neon pink ensemble performed in by the pop star. The concert in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a triumph.
You might not appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, acknowledging that some hits are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to craft art or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the pitch.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the foundation on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and reassembled in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which yielded a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the surface, causing a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are even more exciting owing to the patience committed elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the top batters were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – reading the situation and adapting appropriately. The two highest individual innings were made by recognized players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have endured 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, countless fans celebrated and sang their songs, producing a carnival vibe in a stronghold of national pride.
There was hope as the fielding side excelled, impetus when players fought back, and unconditional love when the result was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has a history with pitch problems. Previously, a Test there featured a strip with the character of a a non-event.
That match was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – both are not the standard, yet historical weight can be attached to both.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"This isn't the death of Test cricket at all," observed a veteran. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The players protected him, reinstating the joy to his face.
Different players delivered with key contributions. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to ensure long-term futures, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players assembled on the field to begin their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
