Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the MCG is housed a electric pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. His show in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you appreciate his music. You might think he is the greatest gift to music in history. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to produce art or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The elements, the session, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the wicket.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the foundation on which the athletes create their art.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the surface which yielded a win and the another short match of the series.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the surface, causing a cascade of wickets falling in less than a brief period, 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 inauthentic, is mistaken.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the patience committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are embraced more easily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from showcasing their talents.
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 was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people celebrated and sang their songs, generating a party atmosphere in a heartland of sport.
There was optimism as the bowlers dominated, momentum when players fought back, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a slog, with few wickets and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are extreme ends of the scale – both are not ideal, yet historical weight can be found in both.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the end of Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been privileged to see these short time have been treated to some genuine drama. A unique show."
Small Victories: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The squad protected him, reinstating the smile to his persona.
New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to ensure long-term success, but a foundation to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players congregated on the outfield to commence their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, boys. You've earned this one.