Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a neon pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. The performance in front of a massive crowd of attendees was hailed as a major hit.
It's possible you appreciate his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, conceding that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The central idea is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft music or even five-day cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon external factors.
The elements, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the wicket.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the canvas on which the players craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the great game dismantled and reassembled in an unusual manner.
This is not a endorsement of the wicket which produced a triumph and the second two-day Test of the series.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the surface, leading to 36 wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is mistaken.
The format is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and ongoing. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it turns square on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The close matches are all the more thrilling owing to the time made during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Certain variables are tolerated more readily than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – reading the conditions and adjusting appropriately. The top two individual innings were made by world-class stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Try telling the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the ground, countless fans made noise and chanted, generating a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.
There was optimism as the attack surged, momentum when batters responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has form with pitch problems. In the past, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more the standard, yet significance can be found in each.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the history books.
"Far from being the end of the format at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been experienced some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The squad responded for him, reinstating the joy to his persona.
New faces performed with vital performances. These are small positives, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term success, but a foundation to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this MCG win joins other memorable performances in meaningless games.
As the fans departed into a stunning sunset, the squad congregated on the field to start their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
