Displayed inside a glass case on the third floor of the MCG rests a neon pink outfit donned by the entertainer. The performance in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a triumph.
You might not appreciate the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Test Format
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by the environment.
The climate, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Above all is the pitch.
If the long game is art, the strip is the canvas on which the players craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format dismantled and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which yielded a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.
Leaving excessive grass on the pitch, causing 36 wickets tumbling in less than a brief period, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is incorrect.
The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and counting. At times, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the investment committed in other matches.
Adjustment: The Real Challenge
Some factors are embraced more freely than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the best players were prevented from playing their natural game.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and adapting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by recognized batters. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited
Try telling the fans who have endured years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the stadium, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the bowlers dominated, impetus when players responded, and unconditional love when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. This recent match and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be found in both.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the demise of the format at all," observed a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these 48 hours have been experienced some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this match, the captain spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The team responded for him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his persona.
Emerging talents stepped up with crucial roles. These are small positives, not nearly enough to secure long-term stability, but something to build on.
Ultimately, this MCG win takes its place among other historic performances in meaningless games.
As the fans slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team congregated on the turf to begin their own celebrations.
Savour the moment, lads. You've earned this one.
