In a showcase on the upper level of the MCG sits a neon pink ensemble performed in by the pop star. His performance in front of 100,024 fans was considered a major hit.
It's possible you like his music. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music in history. Or you could adopt a middle ground, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.
The point being is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. Preferences differ. There is no one way to create music or even the longest format.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the time of day, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the wicket.
If the format is art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the great game broken apart and reassembled in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the surface which yielded a victory and the another short match of the series.
Allowing 10mm of grass on the wicket, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and still growing. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. In contrast, it turns square on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the time devoted elsewhere.
Problem Solving: The True Test
Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and responding appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by recognized batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective
Go and inform the supporters who have experienced a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands celebrated and sang their songs, producing a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the bowlers excelled, momentum when batters scored quickly, and unconditional love when the victory was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with few wickets and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the range – neither ideal, yet significance can be found in both.
Four Tests into the current series, it is the shortest games that will remain iconic in the history books.
"It's not the death of the format at all," observed a past champion. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The team protected him, bringing back the smile to his face.
New faces performed with crucial roles. These are baby steps, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but something to develop from.
Ultimately, this triumph is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the players congregated on the field to commence their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. It's well deserved.
