'Was That Not a Show?' The Reason a Two-Day Match Was No Less a Genuine Cricket Test.

Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the MCG sits a electric pink outfit worn by the pop star. His show in front of 100,024 fans was hailed as a triumph.

You might not enjoy his music. You might think he is the greatest gift to music in history. Or you could adopt a balanced view, acknowledging that some hits are excellent while others are poor.

The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to create music or even five-day cricket.

The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game

The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on external factors.

The elements, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the pitch.

If the long game is a form of art, the strip is the foundation on which the athletes craft their legacy.

A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle

The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and reassembled in abstract form.

Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which resulted in a victory and the another sub-three-day finish of the Ashes battle.

Leaving excessive grass on the wicket, causing 36 wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.

A Diverse Legacy: The Core of Test Cricket

But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be footnoted as not a proper Test, is mistaken.

The format is a varied portfolio, a long history and counting. Sometimes, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it turns square on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.

The close matches are particularly captivating because of the patience devoted during quieter periods.

Adjustment: The Core Skill

Some factors are accepted more readily than others.

The contention in at the MCG was that the balance was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the skilled individuals were hindered from playing their natural game.

Test cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the conditions and adjusting effectively. The two highest individual innings were made by recognized batters. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.

Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective

Go and inform the devotees who have suffered years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.

In a corner of the ground, countless fans made noise and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.

There was optimism as the fielding side excelled, advantage when players responded, and unconditional love when the win was confirmed.

Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches

The MCG has form with pitch problems. In the past, a game there featured a wicket with the character of a a non-event.

That contest was a grind, with minimal action and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – both are not the standard, yet significance can be ascribed to them.

Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.

"It's not the end of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "Spectators who have been fortunate to see these short time have been treated to some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."

Signs of Progress: Building for the Future

In the preparation to this match, the skipper talked like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.

The players delivered for him, restoring the smile to his face.

New faces stepped up with vital performances. These are small positives, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term success, but a starting point to build on.

At the very least, this MCG win is added to other historic performances in dead rubbers.

As the crowd slipped away into a stunning sunset, the players assembled on the field to start their own celebrations.

Savour the moment, boys. You've earned this one.