Within a glass case on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a vibrant pink suit worn by the entertainer. The show in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a success.
You might not appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, admitting that some songs are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce literature or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by conditions.
The weather, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the playing surface.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game taken to pieces and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the surface which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Having excessive grass on the surface, causing numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the patience made in other matches.
Adjustment: The True Test
Some factors are embraced more easily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the wicket and responding accordingly. The two highest individual innings were made by acknowledged players. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the devotees who have suffered a long drought that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the ground, a sea of people waved their flags and sang their songs, producing a party atmosphere in a stronghold of national pride.
There was belief as the attack excelled, advantage when batters responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The venue has previous experience with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a non-event.
That contest was a marathon, with few wickets and endless boredom. This recent match and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither the standard, yet historical weight can be found in each.
At this stage into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the demise of the format at all," said a veteran. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been treated to some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the preparation to this match, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The players delivered for him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his face.
Different players delivered with vital performances. These are small positives, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but a starting point to develop from.
Ultimately, this triumph joins other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad congregated on the turf to begin their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
