Displayed inside a glass case on the upper level of the MCG is housed a neon pink suit worn by the entertainer. The concert in front of a hundred thousand spectators was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you like his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a middle ground, acknowledging that some hits are fantastic while others are poor.
The point being is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft literature or even the longest format.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon conditions.
The weather, the time of day, the ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the wicket.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the foundation on which the players create their art.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which resulted in a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Having excessive grass on the surface, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. In contrast, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting owing to the time committed during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The contention in during the match was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from playing their natural game.
Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the conditions and responding accordingly. The top two individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have endured years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people waved their flags and chanted, generating a party atmosphere in a heartland of sport.
There was hope as the attack dominated, momentum when the top order scored quickly, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with all the life of a a non-event.
That fixture was a marathon, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – neither perfect, yet value can be attached to both.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"It's not the demise of the format at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been treated to some fantastic sport. A unique show."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The squad responded for him, reinstating the smile to his face.
Different players stepped up with key contributions. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but something to develop from.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in meaningless games.
As the supporters slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the turf to start their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, boys. You've earned this one.
