Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a vibrant pink suit worn by the entertainer. The performance in front of a massive crowd of fans was considered a triumph.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music known to man. You might take a balanced view, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are awful.
The central idea is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce literature or even five-day cricket.
The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.
The elements, the session, the ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the pitch.
If the long game is art, the wicket is the foundation on which the athletes craft their legacy.
An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle
The recent Melbourne match between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and reassembled in an unusual manner.
Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the surface which yielded a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Allowing a thick layer on the surface, leading to numerous dismissals being taken in less than six sessions, is not an even battle between offense and defense.
A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and counting. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the fast men. Other times, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is dead, other times it spits like a cobra.
The exciting finishes are even more exciting due to the investment devoted in other matches.
Problem Solving: The Core Skill
Specific conditions are accepted more easily than others.
The contention in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the best players were hindered from playing their natural game.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – assessing the situation and responding accordingly. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class batters. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View
Go and inform the supporters who have suffered years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.
Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people waved their flags and sang their songs, fostering a festive mood in a bastion of sport.
There was belief as the fielding side dominated, momentum when the top order fought back, and pure joy when the result was secured.
Extreme Ends: The Spectrum of Test Matches
The venue has form with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That contest was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are polar opposites of the range – one is not more perfect, yet significance can be attached to both.
At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will remain iconic in the memory.
"It's not the demise of the format at all," said a former player. "The people who have been privileged to see these short time have been experienced some genuine drama. Different entertainment."
Small Victories: A Glimmer of Hope
In the build-up to this match, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The players responded for him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his face.
Emerging talents stepped up with crucial roles. These are baby steps, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.
Ultimately, this triumph joins other memorable performances in similar circumstances.
As the crowd departed into a beautiful night, the squad assembled on the outfield to begin their own celebrations.
Enjoy the drink, boys. It's well deserved.
