Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink outfit worn by the pop star. His performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was considered a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. You might think he is the ultimate present to music in history. Or you could adopt a balanced view, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to create literature or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the foundation on which the players craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the pitch which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, leading to a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the patience made elsewhere.
Adjustment: The True Test
Certain variables are embraced more easily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the situation and responding appropriately. The best individual scores were made by recognized batters. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the supporters who have endured a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
In a corner of the stadium, a sea of people waved their flags and sang their songs, generating a festive mood in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the attack surged, momentum when the top order responded, and pure joy when the result was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has form with pitch problems. In the past, a game there featured a wicket with all the life of a a non-event.
That contest was a slog, with few wickets and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are polar opposites of the scale – both are not the standard, yet significance can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the memory.
"It's not the death of the long game at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been experienced some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players protected him, restoring the positive demeanor to his face.
Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term success, but something to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a stunning sunset, the squad gathered on the turf to commence their own festivities.
Savour the moment, boys. You've earned this one.
