'Did It Not Captivate?' The Reason a Shortened Test Deserved Its Status as a Authentic Test.

Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink outfit performed in by the pop star. The concert in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a major hit.

Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. You might think he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are poor.

The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no universal formula to craft literature or even five-day cricket.

The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket

The five-day game boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by conditions.

The climate, the time of day, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.

If the format is a form of art, the strip is the canvas on which the cricketers create their art.

An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match

The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the traditional sport taken to pieces and stuck back together in an unusual manner.

It must be stated this is not a justification of the surface which yielded a win and the second two-day Test of the series.

Allowing a thick layer on the wicket, leading to numerous dismissals being taken 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 qualified as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.

Test cricket is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and counting. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.

The exciting finishes are even more exciting owing to the time devoted in other matches.

Problem Solving: The True Test

Specific conditions are tolerated more readily than others.

The argument in Melbourne was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were prevented from demonstrating their skill.

This level of cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the conditions and responding effectively. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus were defeated.

Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective

Try telling the supporters who have experienced a long drought that this was not entertaining.

In one section of the MCG, thousands waved their flags and chanted, fostering a festive mood in a heartland of Australian cricket.

There was belief as the attack dominated, advantage when batters fought back, and pure joy when the win was achieved.

Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches

The venue has previous experience with pitch problems. In the past, a Test there featured a strip with the character of a a damp squib.

That contest was a slog, with few wickets and slow play. This recent match and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – one is not more perfect, yet value can be ascribed to them.

Four Tests into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the memory.

"This isn't the demise of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these short time have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."

Baby Steps: Looking Ahead

In the build-up to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.

The team delivered for him, restoring the positive demeanor to his face.

Different players stepped up with key contributions. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term success, but a foundation to use as a platform.

In the end, this triumph is added to other memorable performances in dead rubbers.

As the supporters left into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the turf to commence their own celebrations.

Enjoy the drink, lads. You've earned this one.