Displayed inside a glass case on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink outfit worn by the pop star. The concert in front of 100,024 attendees was hailed as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like his music. You might think he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some hits are belting while others are awful.
The point being is that enjoyment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no one way to produce music or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The climate, the time of day, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the wicket.
If the long game is art, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the wicket which produced a triumph and the another short match of the series.
Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a rich tapestry, a long history and counting. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are even more exciting owing to the time committed elsewhere.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more easily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the wicket and responding accordingly. The top two individual innings were made by acknowledged players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the supporters who have endured a long drought that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the stadium, countless fans celebrated and created an atmosphere, producing a carnival vibe in a heartland of sport.
There was hope as the bowlers dominated, advantage when batters responded, and pure joy when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has a history with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a grind, with minimal action and slow play. The latest encounter and that previous match are polar opposites of the scale – neither the standard, yet value can be ascribed to each.
At this stage into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the death of the long game at all," commented a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been given some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The squad protected him, bringing back the joy to his face.
Different players stepped up with key contributions. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to develop from.
Ultimately, this MCG win joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team gathered on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, men. This victory was hard-fought.
