Within a showcase on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink suit performed in by the pop star. The show in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't like the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no one way to create music or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket
The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the time of day, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the long game is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game broken apart and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a defence of the pitch which yielded a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the surface, resulting in numerous dismissals tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the time committed during quieter periods.
Problem Solving: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and adapting effectively. The top two individual innings were made by recognized stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
In one section of the MCG, countless fans made noise and chanted, generating a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the attack surged, impetus when batters fought back, and unconditional love when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that slow Test are extreme ends of the range – one is not more ideal, yet value can be ascribed to both.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the history books.
"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," observed a veteran. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this match, the captain spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, reinstating the smile to his face.
New faces delivered with vital performances. These are small positives, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to build on.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory joins other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a beautiful night, the squad gathered on the field to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, men. It's well deserved.
