In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink outfit performed in by the pop star. The concert in front of a massive crowd of fans was hailed as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. You might take a middle ground, admitting that some tracks are fantastic while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by conditions.
The climate, the session, the red ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is art, the strip is the foundation on which the cricketers create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
This is not a justification of the surface which produced a victory and the another short match of the contest.
Having 10mm of grass on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets falling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and ongoing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling because of the investment devoted during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are tolerated more easily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
The format is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the situation and adjusting accordingly. The best individual innings were made by acknowledged stars. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the supporters who have experienced years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In a corner of the stadium, thousands made noise and chanted, generating a carnival vibe in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the bowlers excelled, impetus when players scored quickly, and unconditional love when the win was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with pitch problems. In the past, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.
That match was a slog, with minimal action and slow play. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – neither perfect, yet value can be attached to them.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.
"It's not the death of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been treated to some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the captain spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The squad responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his face.
Different players performed with vital performances. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term futures, but a starting point to use as a platform.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the fans left into a beautiful night, the team gathered on the outfield to commence their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
