Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink ensemble donned by the pop star. His show in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you like the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a middle ground, acknowledging that some songs are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon the environment.
The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the pitch.
If the format is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the pitch which produced a win and the another short match of the contest.
Having 10mm of grass on the surface, leading to a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is incorrect.
The long game is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and still growing. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The close matches are even more exciting owing to the investment committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are accepted more readily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were hindered from showcasing their talents.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the situation and responding accordingly. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged batters. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the ground, a sea of people waved their flags and sang their songs, generating a carnival vibe in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the bowlers excelled, advantage when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. In the past, a Test there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and endless boredom. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more perfect, yet value can be attached to each.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of the format at all," said a veteran. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these two days have been treated to some real entertainment. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team delivered for him, reinstating the joy to his face.
New faces performed with key contributions. These are small positives, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term success, but something to develop from.
In the end, this triumph is added to other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a stunning sunset, the squad congregated on the turf to commence their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
