Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a vibrant pink outfit worn by the pop star. The performance in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a balanced view, admitting that some tracks are excellent while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no one way to create literature or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on conditions.
The weather, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the surface which yielded a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing a thick layer on the surface, leading to numerous dismissals falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling owing to the time committed elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were prevented from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the wicket and adjusting appropriately. The two highest individual contributions were made by recognized stars. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the fans who have experienced years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, thousands made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was optimism as the bowlers dominated, advantage when players fought back, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with pitch problems. In the past, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a slog, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that previous match are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet historical weight can be attached to both.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the end of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some real entertainment. A unique show."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this match, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.
The squad delivered for him, restoring the joy to his persona.
Emerging talents stepped up with vital performances. These are small positives, not nearly enough to secure long-term success, but a foundation to build on.
In the end, this triumph joins other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans slipped away into a stunning sunset, the players congregated on the outfield to start their own celebrations.
Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
