Displayed inside a glass case on the third floor of the MCG is housed a neon pink outfit worn by the entertainer. His show in front of a hundred thousand spectators was seen as a major hit.
It's possible you appreciate his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The climate, the time of day, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the pitch.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the wicket which resulted in a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is mistaken.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting because of the time committed in other matches.
Adaptation: The True Test
Some factors are accepted more easily 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 demonstrating their skill.
Test cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the situation and adjusting appropriately. The best individual scores were made by recognized stars. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, producing a festive mood in a bastion of national pride.
There was hope as the bowlers dominated, momentum when players fought back, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a wicket with all the life of a a damp squib.
That match was a grind, with few wickets and slow play. This recent match and that previous match are extreme ends of the range – both are not ideal, yet value can be found in them.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the memory.
"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been treated to some real entertainment. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the preparation to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The squad responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his countenance.
Emerging talents performed with key contributions. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to guarantee long-term stability, but something to build on.
In the end, this MCG win joins other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the crowd left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team congregated on the turf to start their own festivities.
Savour the moment, lads. You've earned this one.
