'Are You Not Entertained?' Why a Shortened Test Deserved Its Status as a Genuine Test Match.

In a glass case on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink ensemble donned by the entertainer. The performance in front of 100,024 attendees was seen as a major hit.

You might not like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a middle ground, conceding that some tracks are fantastic while others are terrible.

The key argument is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce music or even Test cricket.

The Peerless Spectrum of Test Cricket

Test cricket boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon the environment.

The climate, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Above all is the pitch.

If the format is a form of art, the strip is the blank slate on which the players paint their masterpiece.

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 reassembled in abstract form.

It must be stated this is not a endorsement of the wicket which yielded a win and the second two-day Test of the contest.

Allowing excessive grass on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets being taken in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.

A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket

But any idea this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.

The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and ongoing. At times, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dust bowl. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.

The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling owing to the patience made during quieter periods.

Problem Solving: The Core Skill

Some factors are embraced more readily than others.

The argument in at the MCG was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were unable from demonstrating their skill.

The format is about problem solving – reading the wicket and responding appropriately. The two highest individual scores were made by recognized batters. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.

Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective

Attempt to convince the devotees who have suffered years of defeat that this was not entertaining.

In a corner of the ground, thousands celebrated and chanted, generating a festive mood in a bastion of national pride.

There was hope as the attack excelled, impetus when the top order fought back, and unconditional love when the result was achieved.

Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches

The Melbourne has a history with difficult wickets. Eight years ago, a match there featured a pitch with all the life of a a damp squib.

That fixture was a grind, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the scale – neither the standard, yet value can be attached to them.

Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will live longest in the memory.

"It's not the demise of the long game at all," commented a former player. "Fans who have been privileged to see these two days have been treated to some genuine drama. A unique show."

Baby Steps: Building for the Future

In the preparation to this Test, the captain talked like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.

The players protected him, reinstating the joy to his persona.

New faces delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to guarantee long-term success, but a foundation to use as a platform.

In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in dead rubbers.

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

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