'Are You Not Entertained?' Why a Shortened Test Was No Less a Authentic Test.

In a glass case on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a neon pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. His concert in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a success.

It's possible you like the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music the world has ever seen. You might take a balanced view, acknowledging that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.

The key argument is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no one way to create art or even five-day cricket.

The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game

The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It's difficult to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon the environment.

The weather, the session, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the playing surface.

If Test cricket is art, the pitch is the blank slate on which the players paint their masterpiece.

A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle

The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport dismantled and stuck back together in an unusual manner.

Let's be clear, this isn't a defence of the surface which yielded a triumph and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.

Having excessive grass on the surface, causing 36 wickets being taken in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.

A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket

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

Test cricket is a varied portfolio, a long history and ongoing. At times, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.

The close matches are even more exciting because of the investment devoted during quieter periods.

Adaptation: The Real Challenge

Some factors are embraced more easily than others.

The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.

Test cricket is about problem solving – interpreting the conditions and adapting effectively. The two highest individual contributions were made by acknowledged players. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.

Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited

Attempt to convince the devotees who have suffered a long drought that this wasn't compelling.

In one section of the ground, countless fans waved their flags and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.

There was belief as the bowlers dominated, impetus when batters responded, and unconditional love when the win was achieved.

Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches

The MCG has a history with pitch problems. Previously, a Test there featured a pitch with the character of a a non-event.

That fixture was a slog, with few wickets and endless boredom. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the range – one is not more perfect, yet value can be attached to both.

Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the collective consciousness.

"It's not the demise of the format at all," said a veteran. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been experienced some real entertainment. Different entertainment."

Small Victories: Building for the Future

In the lead-in to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his mind.

The players responded for him, bringing back the smile to his face.

Different players delivered with key contributions. These are small positives, hardly enough to guarantee long-term success, but a foundation to build on.

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

As the fans departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the team congregated on the turf to begin their own festivities.

Savour the moment, boys. This victory was hard-fought.