Displayed inside a glass case on the elevated floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink ensemble donned by the pop star. The show in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a major hit.
It's possible you like his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.
The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no one way to produce music or even Test cricket.
The Unrivalled Depth of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by the environment.
The weather, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the format is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format broken apart and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the pitch which yielded a triumph and the another short match of the contest.
Leaving a thick layer on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.
The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball does all sorts for the seamers. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.
The close matches are particularly captivating owing to the time made elsewhere.
Adaptation: The True Test
Specific conditions are accepted more readily than others.
The argument in at the MCG was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the top batters were unable from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about adapting to challenges – reading the conditions and adjusting effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the fans who have suffered 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
Among the crowd of the MCG, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was belief as the fielding side dominated, momentum when the top order fought back, and rapturous celebration when the victory was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The MCG has previous experience with pitch problems. Previously, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. This recent match and that slow Test are polar opposites of the range – neither perfect, yet significance can be found in both.
Deep into the series into the Ashes contest, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the memory.
"It's not the end of Test cricket at all," observed a past champion. "Fans who have been privileged to see these short time have been experienced some genuine drama. A unique show."
Baby Steps: Looking Ahead
In the lead-in to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The players responded for him, reinstating the smile to his persona.
Emerging talents delivered with key contributions. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term stability, but something to build on.
In the end, this Melbourne victory is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the turf to begin their own festivities.
Celebrate the win, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
