Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a neon pink suit performed in by the pop star. His performance in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy his music. You might think he is the ultimate present to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, conceding that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to produce art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and reassembled in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the surface which resulted in a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Having 10mm of grass on the surface, leading to numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.
The format is a rich tapestry, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the fast men. In contrast, it turns square on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the time committed elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are accepted more freely than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the best players were prevented from playing their natural game.
The format is about problem solving – interpreting the situation and responding appropriately. The best individual contributions were made by acknowledged players. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the devotees who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, generating a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was belief as the fielding side excelled, impetus when batters scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a strip with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a grind, with few wickets and slow play. The latest encounter and that slow Test are extreme ends of the spectrum – one is not more the standard, yet historical weight can be found in both.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," commented a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this Test, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad delivered for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but a foundation to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory is added to other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team gathered on the outfield to begin their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, men. It's well deserved.
