'Did It Not Captivate?' The Reason a Shortened Test Was No Less a Authentic Test Match.

Displayed inside a showcase on the upper level of the MCG rests a electric pink ensemble performed in by Robbie Williams. The show in front of a massive crowd of fans was seen as a triumph.

It's possible you enjoy Robbie Williams. You might think he is the ultimate present to music in history. You might take a middle ground, admitting that some tracks are fantastic while others are awful.

The key argument is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. You like what you like. There is no universal formula to craft music or even the longest format.

The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game

The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on external factors.

The climate, the hour of play, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Above all is the pitch.

If the long game is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers craft their legacy.

An Abstract Contest: The Melbourne Spectacle

The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the traditional sport broken apart and reassembled in abstract form.

This is not a justification of the pitch which produced a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the contest.

Leaving a thick layer on the pitch, causing numerous dismissals being taken in less than two days, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.

A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket

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

The format is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and still growing. On occasion, like in Melbourne, the cricket ball does all sorts for the seamers. Sometimes, it spins sharply on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.

The exciting finishes are particularly captivating owing to the time made elsewhere.

Adaptation: The Core Skill

Certain variables are accepted more freely than others.

The debate in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the top batters were prevented from showcasing their talents.

The format is about finding solutions – interpreting the situation and responding accordingly. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged players. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.

Pure Elation: For Those Who Waited

Try telling the supporters who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.

Among the crowd of the ground, a sea of people made noise and sang their songs, generating a festive mood in a bastion of Australian cricket.

There was optimism as the bowlers excelled, momentum when batters responded, and pure joy when the win was secured.

Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches

The MCG has form with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a match there featured a wicket with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.

That contest was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are extreme ends of the scale – neither ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to both.

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

"Far from being the end of the long game at all," commented a former player. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been given some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."

Small Victories: Building for the Future

In the lead-in to this Test, the leader spoke like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

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

Emerging talents delivered with crucial roles. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to ensure long-term futures, but a starting point to use as a platform.

Ultimately, this MCG win is added to other notable performances in similar circumstances.

As the crowd left into a beautiful night, the team gathered on the turf to commence their own festivities.

Savour the moment, lads. It's well deserved.