'Are You Not Entertained?' The Reason a Shortened Match Remained Every Bit a Authentic Cricket Test.

In a showcase on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a electric pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. His show in front of a hundred thousand spectators was considered a success.

Perhaps you don't like his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music in history. Alternatively, you may hold a middle ground, acknowledging that some songs are fantastic while others are terrible.

The key argument is that enjoyment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to create literature or even the longest format.

The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket

Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon the environment.

The elements, the time of day, the red ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the wicket.

If the long game is art, the strip is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.

A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test

The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in an unusual manner.

This is not a defence of the surface which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.

Allowing a thick layer on the surface, leading to a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.

A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket

But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be marked with an asterisk as not a proper Test, is incorrect.

Test cricket is a diverse canvas, over two thousand matches and still growing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.

The thrillers are particularly captivating owing to the investment committed elsewhere.

Adaptation: The True Test

Specific conditions are tolerated more freely than others.

The debate in at the MCG was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the best players were prevented from demonstrating their skill.

This level of cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the situation and adapting appropriately. The best individual innings were made by recognized batters. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.

Pure Elation: The Supporters' View

Try telling the fans who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.

Among the crowd of the ground, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, generating a party atmosphere in a stronghold of Australian cricket.

There was belief as the fielding side excelled, impetus when players fought back, and rapturous celebration when the win was confirmed.

Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches

The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a Test there featured a strip with the character of a a damp squib.

That match was a marathon, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the range – both are not ideal, yet historical weight can be found in each.

At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.

"It's not the demise of Test cricket at all," commented a past champion. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."

Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope

In the preparation to this match, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.

The players responded for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his face.

Emerging talents performed with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but a starting point to use as a platform.

At the very least, this triumph takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.

As the crowd slipped away into a glorious Melbourne evening, the players congregated on the outfield to commence their own festivities.

Celebrate the win, boys. You've earned this one.