'Are You Not Entertained?' Why a Shortened Test Deserved Its Status as a Authentic Cricket Test.

Displayed inside a showcase on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a neon pink outfit performed in by the pop star. His show in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a major hit.

It's possible you like his music. You might think he is the finest offering to music in history. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some tracks are belting while others are terrible.

The point being is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create music or even five-day cricket.

The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket

The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon the environment.

The elements, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Above all is the pitch.

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

An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle

The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the great game taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.

Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the wicket which resulted in a victory and the another short match of the Ashes battle.

Having 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in a cascade of wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.

A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket

But any idea this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be footnoted as inauthentic, is mistaken.

Test cricket is a varied portfolio, a long history and ongoing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Other times, it grips and turns on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it bounces unevenly.

The close matches are even more exciting owing to the time made elsewhere.

Adaptation: The Core Skill

Certain variables are embraced more freely than others.

The debate in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.

This level of cricket is about finding solutions – reading the wicket and adapting appropriately. The best individual scores were made by acknowledged players. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.

Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective

Attempt to convince the devotees who have endured a long drought that this lacked spectacle.

In a corner of the MCG, countless fans waved their flags and created an atmosphere, fostering a carnival vibe in a stronghold of Australian cricket.

There was optimism as the attack dominated, impetus when players responded, and pure joy when the victory was achieved.

Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches

The MCG has a history with controversial surfaces. In the past, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.

That match was a marathon, with few wickets and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the scale – both are not the standard, yet value can be ascribed to both.

Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the history books.

"Far from being the death of Test cricket at all," observed a former player. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some real entertainment. An unusual spectacle."

Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope

In the preparation to this match, the leader talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his back.

The players responded for him, restoring the joy to his persona.

New faces delivered with vital performances. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.

In the end, this MCG win takes its place among other notable performances in meaningless games.

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

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