In a showcase on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink ensemble donned by the pop star. His show in front of a hundred thousand fans was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't like the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a balanced view, conceding that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.
The point being is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the format is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which produced a triumph and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting due to the investment committed in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are embraced more freely than others.
The argument in during the match was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and responding appropriately. The top two individual scores were made by recognized stars. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Try telling the supporters who have experienced 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, countless fans made noise and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the fielding side surged, momentum when the top order responded, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a match there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a damp squib.
That contest was a slog, with few wickets and slow play. The two-day game and that previous match are polar opposites of the range – one is not more the standard, yet value can be found in both.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "The people who have been privileged to see these short time have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The squad responded for him, restoring the joy to his face.
Emerging talents stepped up with crucial roles. These are small positives, certainly not enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the turf to commence their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, lads. It's well deserved.
