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

Within a display cabinet on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a electric pink suit worn by the entertainer. The performance in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a major hit.

Perhaps you don't appreciate the performer. You might think he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, conceding that some hits are belting while others are terrible.

The central idea is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is not a single method to create literature or even Test cricket.

The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket

The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. It's difficult to think of another sport where the contest is so dictated by external factors.

The elements, the time of day, the red ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the playing surface.

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

A Broken-Down Battle: The Fourth Test

The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.

Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the pitch which resulted in a win and the another short match of the contest.

Leaving a thick layer on the wicket, causing 36 wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.

A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket

But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is incorrect.

Test cricket is a varied portfolio, a long history and counting. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Other times, it turns square on a dust bowl. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.

The exciting finishes are even more exciting due to the time committed elsewhere.

Adjustment: The True Test

Specific conditions are accepted more readily than others.

The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the top batters were unable from playing their natural game.

This level of cricket is about problem solving – reading the conditions and responding accordingly. The best individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One line-up was less disciplined than the other, and thus were defeated.

Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited

Attempt to convince the fans who have experienced 18 winless matches that this lacked spectacle.

In a corner of the stadium, a sea of people waved their flags and chanted, generating a festive mood in a stronghold of Australian cricket.

There was hope as the bowlers surged, impetus when players fought back, and unconditional love when the win was confirmed.

Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches

The Melbourne has a history with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with the excitement of a a damp squib.

That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are polar opposites of the spectrum – one is not more the standard, yet historical weight can be ascribed to both.

At this stage into the Ashes contest, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the memory.

"This isn't the demise of Test cricket at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."

Small Victories: Building for the Future

In the build-up to this Test, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.

The squad protected him, bringing back the joy to his countenance.

Emerging talents delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to develop from.

Ultimately, this Melbourne victory is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.

As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the squad congregated on the outfield to start their own enjoyment.

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