Within a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink ensemble worn by the pop star. His show in front of a massive crowd of fans was considered a success.
It's possible you appreciate the performer. You might think he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a middle ground, acknowledging that some tracks are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.
The elements, the session, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the wicket.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the canvas on which the athletes create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the wicket which produced a triumph and the second two-day Test of the series.
Allowing excessive grass on the wicket, resulting in numerous dismissals tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
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 inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a varied portfolio, a long history and still growing. At times, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the time committed in other matches.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the wicket and adapting appropriately. The two highest individual innings were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Attempt to convince the fans who have suffered a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a carnival vibe in a stronghold of national pride.
There was optimism as the bowlers dominated, impetus when players scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a match there featured a pitch with all the life of a a non-event.
That match was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are polar opposites of the range – one is not more ideal, yet historical weight can be found in them.
At this stage into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the end of the long game at all," commented a former player. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team protected him, restoring the smile to his face.
Emerging talents delivered with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to ensure long-term futures, but a starting point to build on.
In the end, this triumph joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team assembled on the outfield to start their own enjoyment.
Celebrate the win, men. You've earned this one.
