Within a display cabinet on the upper level of the MCG is housed a electric pink ensemble performed in by the pop star. His show in front of a hundred thousand fans was seen as a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to produce music or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on external factors.
The climate, the time of day, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the canvas on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the wicket which resulted in a triumph and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Having a thick layer on the surface, leading to 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it turns square on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the investment devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are tolerated more freely than others.
The debate in Melbourne 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 – assessing the conditions and responding effectively. The top two individual innings were made by recognized stars. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have endured years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the ground, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a stronghold of national pride.
There was belief as the attack dominated, advantage when batters responded, and rapturous celebration when the win was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a match there featured a strip with the character of a a damp squib.
That contest was a grind, with few wickets and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – one is not more ideal, yet value can be found in them.
Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of the long game at all," said a veteran. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these short time have been treated to some genuine drama. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his face.
Different players stepped up with vital performances. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but a starting point to use as a platform.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans slipped away into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the turf to commence their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, men. It's well deserved.
