Within a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. His show in front of 100,024 fans was seen as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, acknowledging that some hits are fantastic while others are terrible.
The key argument is that amusement can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to create music or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by the environment.
The climate, the time of day, the red ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the long game is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the canvas on which the players craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the established format dismantled and reassembled in an unusual manner.
This is not a defence of the pitch which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Allowing a thick layer on the surface, resulting in a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is mistaken.
The long game is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and counting. Sometimes, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. Other times, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are particularly captivating owing to the patience committed during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The Core Skill
Certain variables are embraced more readily than others.
The argument in during the match was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the situation and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by recognized batters. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the supporters who have experienced 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the ground, thousands made noise and chanted, producing a festive mood in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the fielding side excelled, advantage when players fought back, and pure joy when the victory was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches
The Melbourne has previous experience with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a game there featured a strip with all the life of a a non-event.
That match was a slog, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – both are not ideal, yet significance can be found in each.
At this stage into the current series, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the memory.
"Far from being the death of the format at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been given some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The team protected him, reinstating the joy to his countenance.
New faces performed with key contributions. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to ensure long-term futures, but a foundation to develop from.
At the very least, this MCG win is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans left into a stunning sunset, the squad gathered on the outfield to commence their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
