'Are You Not Entertained?' The Reason a Shortened Match Remained Every Bit a Proper Test.

In a glass case on the upper level of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a electric pink suit performed in by Robbie Williams. The performance in front of a massive crowd of attendees was considered a triumph.

Perhaps you don't appreciate his music. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. Or you could adopt a balanced view, conceding that some songs are excellent while others are poor.

The point being is that amusement can be delivered diversely. Tastes vary. There is not a single method to create music or even the longest format.

The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game

The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon conditions.

The weather, the time of day, the red ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.

If the format is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes craft their legacy.

A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match

The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was the game deconstructed, the established format broken apart and stuck back together in a bizarre shape.

This is not a endorsement of the surface which produced a triumph and the another short match of the series.

Having 10mm of grass on the pitch, resulting in numerous dismissals falling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between batter and bowler.

A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket

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

Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball behaves unpredictably for the seamers. Sometimes, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.

The close matches are particularly captivating because of the time devoted in other matches.

Adjustment: The True Test

Certain variables are embraced more easily than others.

The debate in during the match was that the balance was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were hindered from demonstrating their skill.

Test cricket is about problem solving – assessing the conditions and adapting appropriately. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class stars. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.

Sheer Celebration: The Fan Perspective

Go and inform the devotees who have suffered 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.

Among the crowd of the MCG, countless fans made noise and created an atmosphere, fostering a festive mood in a stronghold of sport.

There was belief as the attack surged, advantage when players scored quickly, and rapturous celebration when the result was secured.

Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches

The venue has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a match there featured a wicket with all the life of a a damp squib.

That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the spectrum – both are not the standard, yet value can be found in each.

Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will remain iconic in the collective consciousness.

"It's not the demise of the long game at all," said a former player. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been experienced some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."

Baby Steps: A Glimmer of Hope

In the preparation to this match, the captain addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his back.

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

Emerging talents delivered with key contributions. These are small positives, not nearly enough to secure long-term stability, but a foundation to use as a platform.

In the end, this Melbourne victory joins other memorable performances in similar circumstances.

As the crowd departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad assembled on the outfield to start their own enjoyment.

Celebrate the win, lads. This victory was hard-fought.