In a glass case on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink suit donned by the pop star. His performance in front of a hundred thousand attendees was seen as a major hit.
You might not appreciate his music. You might think he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a balanced view, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are poor.
The central idea is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft art or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on conditions.
The elements, the time of day, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the playing surface.
If the format is an artistic pursuit, the pitch is the blank slate on which the cricketers craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test
The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport dismantled and stuck back together in abstract form.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the pitch which produced a win and the second two-day Test of the series.
Leaving 10mm of grass on the wicket, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.
The format is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and counting. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the investment made during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The True Test
Specific conditions are embraced more freely than others.
The contention in during the match was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the fielding side. That the top batters were hindered from demonstrating their skill.
The format is about adapting to challenges – reading the wicket and adjusting effectively. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One line-up committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View
Attempt to convince the supporters who have experienced a long drought that this wasn't compelling.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a carnival vibe in a heartland of Australian cricket.
There was hope as the attack excelled, advantage when batters responded, and pure joy when the result was achieved.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. In the past, a Test there featured a strip with all the life of a a damp squib.
That fixture was a marathon, with minimal action and slow play. This recent match and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more the standard, yet significance can be ascribed to them.
Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"This isn't the death of the long game at all," observed a former player. "The people who have been privileged to see these two days have been given some real entertainment. A unique show."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.
The players protected him, bringing back the smile to his persona.
Different players performed with vital performances. These are small positives, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.
In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the fans slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad assembled on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.
