In a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink suit worn by the pop star. The performance in front of 100,024 fans was considered a major hit.
Perhaps you don't like the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music in history. Or you could adopt a middle ground, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create literature or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on conditions.
The elements, the session, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the playing surface.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the foundation on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in abstract form.
This is not a endorsement of the surface which produced a triumph and the another short match of the series.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting due to the time devoted in other matches.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Certain variables are tolerated more easily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
The format is about problem solving – assessing the conditions and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class batters. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the fans who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the MCG, countless fans made noise and created an atmosphere, producing a carnival vibe in a heartland of sport.
There was belief as the bowlers excelled, advantage when players scored quickly, and unconditional love when the win was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with few wickets and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the spectrum – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the memory.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been given some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The squad protected him, bringing back the joy to his countenance.
Emerging talents stepped up with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to build on.
Ultimately, this triumph takes its place among other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans departed into a stunning sunset, the team gathered on the outfield to commence their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. This victory was hard-fought.
