In a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a neon pink suit performed in by the pop star. The show in front of a massive crowd of attendees was hailed as a triumph.
It's possible you enjoy the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a middle ground, admitting that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create art or even Test cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by conditions.
The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the wicket.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and reconstructed in an unusual manner.
This is not a defence of the pitch which produced a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the surface, leading to numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The thrillers are even more exciting because of the investment devoted elsewhere.
Adaptation: The Core Skill
Some factors are accepted more readily than others.
The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were hindered from showcasing their talents.
The format is about problem solving – assessing the wicket and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual scores were made by recognized batters. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the devotees who have suffered a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people waved their flags and created an atmosphere, generating a party atmosphere in a stronghold of sport.
There was belief as the fielding side surged, impetus when batters scored quickly, and pure joy when the result was confirmed.
Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches
The Melbourne has a history with controversial surfaces. In the past, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the scale – both are not perfect, yet significance can be found in each.
Deep into the series into the current series, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the memory.
"It's not the demise of Test cricket at all," observed a veteran. "Fans who have been privileged to see these short time have been treated to some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the build-up to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.
The players delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his countenance.
Different players performed with vital performances. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but a starting point to build on.
At the very least, this Melbourne victory joins other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team congregated on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
