Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink ensemble donned by the pop star. The performance in front of a massive crowd of attendees was hailed as a success.
Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music in history. Or you could adopt a middle ground, admitting that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft art or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by conditions.
The weather, the time of day, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the players craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format taken to pieces and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a triumph and the another short match of the series.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals falling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and ongoing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the ball does all sorts for the seamers. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are even more exciting due to the time made elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Some factors are embraced more freely than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the best players were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and responding accordingly. The best individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the stadium, countless fans made noise and sang their songs, generating a carnival vibe in a stronghold of sport.
There was optimism as the fielding side dominated, impetus when the top order responded, and unconditional love when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with pitch problems. In the past, a match there featured a pitch with all the life of a a non-event.
That match was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. The two-day game and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet historical weight can be found in them.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of the long game at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The team protected him, bringing back the smile to his face.
New faces stepped up with key contributions. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to ensure long-term success, but a foundation to develop from.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the squad congregated on the outfield to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, boys. It's well deserved.
