Displayed inside a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a electric pink outfit worn by the pop star. His show in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a triumph.
Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music in history. Or you could adopt a middle ground, admitting that some hits are fantastic while others are terrible.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to create art or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dictated by external factors.
The elements, the time of day, the ball – the list is endless. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.
A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match
The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in a bizarre shape.
Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the surface which yielded a victory and the second two-day Test of the contest.
Having a thick layer on the surface, resulting in 36 wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.
A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and still growing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.
The exciting finishes are particularly captivating owing to the time made during quieter periods.
Adaptation: The Real Challenge
Some factors are tolerated more freely than others.
The contention in at the MCG was that the contest was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were unable from showcasing their talents.
This level of cricket is about problem solving – reading the situation and adjusting effectively. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged stars. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Go and inform the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In one section of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and created an atmosphere, producing a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.
There was optimism as the fielding side excelled, impetus when batters fought back, and pure joy when the win was confirmed.
Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches
The venue has a history with controversial surfaces. In the past, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a marathon, with limited drama and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more the standard, yet historical weight can be found in each.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the memory.
"This isn't the end of Test cricket at all," observed a past champion. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."
Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead
In the preparation to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.
The team responded for him, reinstating the smile to his persona.
Different players stepped up with vital performances. These are small positives, not nearly enough to guarantee long-term success, but a foundation to build on.
At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters left into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team congregated on the turf to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, men. You've earned this one.