Displayed inside a display cabinet on the upper level of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. The show in front of a hundred thousand spectators was seen as a triumph.
It's possible you appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some hits are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is no one way to produce art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Above all is the playing surface.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the players create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the established format broken apart and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the wicket which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, causing 36 wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and ongoing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it spins sharply on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting because of the time devoted during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are embraced more freely than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were prevented from showcasing their talents.
Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The best individual innings were made by acknowledged batters. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the stadium, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, fostering a carnival vibe in a heartland of national pride.
There was hope as the fielding side excelled, momentum when the top order scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the victory was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has a history with controversial surfaces. In the past, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a slog, with limited drama and endless boredom. This recent match and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the spectrum – neither perfect, yet historical weight can be ascribed to both.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the memory.
"Far from being the demise of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been given some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The squad delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his face.
Different players delivered with vital performances. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the outfield to start their own festivities.
Enjoy the drink, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
