'Was That Not a Show?' The Reason a Two-Day Test Was No Less a Proper Test.

Within a glass case on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a vibrant pink suit donned by the entertainer. The show in front of a massive crowd of spectators was seen as a success.

Perhaps you don't like his music. You might think he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, admitting that some hits are belting while others are poor.

The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to create music or even the longest format.

The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game

The traditional format boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so reliant upon the environment.

The elements, the hour of play, the red ball – the list is endless. Most important is the playing surface.

If Test cricket is art, the strip is the blank slate on which the cricketers create their art.

A Broken-Down Battle: The Melbourne Spectacle

The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game taken to pieces and reassembled in a bizarre shape.

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

Allowing 10mm of grass on the wicket, causing a cascade of wickets tumbling in less than six sessions, is not a balanced duel between bat and ball.

A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket

But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be marked with an asterisk as inauthentic, is mistaken.

Test cricket is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and still growing. On occasion, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball moves excessively for the seamers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it spits like a cobra.

The thrillers are all the more thrilling due to the investment made in other matches.

Adaptation: The Core Skill

Certain variables are embraced more easily than others.

The debate in at the MCG was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the attack. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.

This level of cricket is about finding solutions – assessing the conditions and adapting appropriately. The top two individual innings were made by acknowledged stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.

Unbridled Joy: The Fan Perspective

Try telling the fans who have experienced years of defeat that this lacked spectacle.

Among the crowd of the MCG, thousands waved their flags and created an atmosphere, generating a party atmosphere in a bastion of Australian cricket.

There was belief as the fielding side dominated, impetus when batters fought back, and rapturous celebration when the win was confirmed.

Polar Opposites: The Range of Test Matches

The venue has a history with controversial surfaces. Eight years ago, a game there featured a wicket with the excitement of a a non-event.

That contest was a marathon, with few wickets and slow play. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the spectrum – both are not perfect, yet value can be found in them.

At this stage into the current series, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.

"This isn't the death of the format at all," said a past champion. "The people who have been fortunate to see these two days have been given some genuine drama. Different entertainment."

Signs of Progress: Looking Ahead

In the build-up to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his shoulders.

The team delivered for him, bringing back the joy to his countenance.

Different players delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to secure long-term futures, but a foundation to develop from.

At the very least, this Melbourne victory joins other historic performances in similar circumstances.

As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad gathered on the outfield to commence their own celebrations.

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