Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a electric pink suit donned by the entertainer. His show in front of 100,024 fans was considered a triumph.
You might not like his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music in history. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some hits are excellent while others are poor.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to produce art or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by conditions.
The climate, the session, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the playing surface.
If the format is art, the pitch is the foundation on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the wicket which resulted in a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Having a thick layer on the surface, resulting in a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, a long history and ongoing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the patience committed during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the top batters were unable from showcasing their talents.
The format is about adapting to challenges – assessing the situation and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual innings were made by acknowledged players. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the supporters who have endured 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the stadium, countless fans made noise and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack dominated, momentum when batters fought back, and pure joy when the victory was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – neither the standard, yet significance can be ascribed to them.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the memory.
"It's not the demise of Test cricket at all," said a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the leader spoke like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The players protected him, reinstating the smile to his face.
Emerging talents stepped up with crucial roles. These are small positives, hardly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to develop from.
Ultimately, this MCG win is added to other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a beautiful night, the players assembled on the turf to begin their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, boys. It's well deserved.
