Within a glass case on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a electric pink suit worn by the entertainer. The performance in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a major hit.
It's possible you enjoy his music. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft art or even the longest format.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the format is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the wicket which yielded a win and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Having 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are even more exciting owing to the time made in other matches.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the conditions and adapting appropriately. The best individual scores were made by recognized players. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the devotees who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the stadium, thousands celebrated and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of sport.
There was hope as the fielding side surged, advantage when batters responded, and unconditional love when the win was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has a history with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a grind, with few wickets and slow play. The latest encounter and that slow Test 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 two-day matches that will live longest in the memory.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been fortunate to see these short time have been experienced some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this Test, the captain spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.
The players responded for him, bringing back the smile to his countenance.
Emerging talents stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term success, but something to develop from.
Ultimately, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans left into a beautiful night, the squad gathered on the field to commence their own enjoyment.
Enjoy the drink, boys. You've earned this one.
