'Are You Not Entertained?' Why a Two-Day Test Was No Less a Genuine Cricket Test.

Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground sits a vibrant pink outfit performed in by the pop star. His performance in front of a hundred thousand spectators was seen as a success.

Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. You might think he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a middle ground, acknowledging that some tracks are belting while others are poor.

The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to produce art or even the longest format.

The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket

The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It's difficult to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on the environment.

The elements, the session, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.

If the format is art, the strip is the foundation on which the athletes create their art.

An Abstract Contest: The Fourth Test

The recent Melbourne match between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and stuck back together in abstract form.

Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which produced a win and the another short match of the series.

Having excessive grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals tumbling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between offense and defense.

A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket

But any suggestion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as illegitimate, is incorrect.

The long game is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and still growing. Sometimes, as witnessed recently, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. Sometimes, it turns square on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it explodes.

The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling because of the time committed elsewhere.

Adjustment: The True Test

Specific conditions are accepted more readily than others.

The contention in during the match was that the equilibrium was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.

This level of cricket is about problem solving – assessing the situation and adjusting accordingly. The two highest individual scores were made by world-class players. One side made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.

Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective

Attempt to convince the supporters who have suffered years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.

In a corner of the MCG, a sea of people waved their flags and chanted, generating a party atmosphere in a heartland of national pride.

There was belief as the fielding side surged, momentum when the top order fought back, and rapturous celebration when the victory was confirmed.

Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches

The MCG has previous experience with difficult wickets. Previously, a game there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.

That fixture was a marathon, with limited drama and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the scale – neither ideal, yet historical weight can be found in them.

Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the memory.

"Far from being the death of the long game at all," observed a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."

Baby Steps: Looking Ahead

In the preparation to this match, the leader spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.

The team protected him, bringing back the positive demeanor to his face.

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

At the very least, this MCG win takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.

As the crowd left into a stunning sunset, the players congregated on the field to begin their own festivities.

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