Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink suit donned by the entertainer. The show in front of a massive crowd of attendees was considered a triumph.
It's possible you like his music. You might think he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a middle ground, admitting that some songs are belting while others are terrible.
The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no one way to craft music or even Test cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game
Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The elements, the time of day, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the pitch.
If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.
It must be stated this is not a justification of the wicket which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.
Leaving a thick layer on the pitch, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.
The long game is a diverse canvas, a long history and ongoing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.
The thrillers are even more exciting due to the time devoted elsewhere.
Adaptation: The True Test
Certain variables are accepted more easily than others.
The debate in during the match was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the bowlers. That the top batters were prevented from demonstrating their skill.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – assessing the situation and adapting appropriately. The best individual contributions were made by acknowledged players. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.
Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people celebrated and chanted, generating a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the bowlers excelled, momentum when players fought back, and unconditional love when the win was secured.
Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches
The MCG has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a match there featured a wicket with the character of a a non-event.
That contest was a slog, with minimal action and interminable tedium. This recent match and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more perfect, yet historical weight can be ascribed to both.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the memory.
"It's not the demise of Test cricket at all," observed a veteran. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the skipper spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.
The team protected him, bringing back the joy to his face.
New faces performed with vital performances. These are small positives, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but something to build on.
At the very least, this triumph is added to other historic performances in similar circumstances.
As the supporters slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad gathered on the outfield to start their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, lads. This victory was hard-fought.
