Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink outfit worn by the pop star. His concert in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a middle ground, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are awful.
The key argument is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to produce art or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by external factors.
The elements, the session, the ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which resulted in a victory and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, a long history and ongoing. At times, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the seamers. Other times, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the patience made in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Certain variables are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were prevented from showcasing their talents.
The format is about problem solving – assessing the conditions and responding appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class stars. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered years of defeat that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, thousands celebrated and chanted, generating a festive mood in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the fielding side surged, advantage when batters scored quickly, and unconditional love when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with pitch problems. Previously, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and slow play. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the scale – both are not ideal, yet historical weight can be found in each.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the end of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The team responded for him, restoring the smile to his face.
New faces stepped up with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to develop from.
Ultimately, this MCG win joins other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
