'Did It Not Captivate?' The Reason a Shortened Match Remained Every Bit a Proper Test Match.

Within a showcase on the third floor of the MCG rests a neon pink outfit donned by the pop star. The performance in front of a hundred thousand fans was considered a major hit.

It's possible you appreciate the performer. Maybe you feel he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a reasonable stance, conceding that some hits are belting while others are poor.

The point being is that enjoyment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce music or even five-day cricket.

The Incomparable Variety of The Long Game

The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.

The climate, the time of day, the red ball – the factors are countless. Most important is the playing surface.

If the format is a form of art, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.

A Test of Cubism: The MCG Match

The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the established format broken apart and reconstructed in an unusual manner.

Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the wicket which produced a victory and the second two-day Test of the series.

Allowing excessive grass on the surface, leading to 36 wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.

A Rich Tapestry: The Core of Test Cricket

But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is wide of the mark.

Test cricket is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.

The close matches are all the more thrilling because of the patience committed during quieter periods.

Adaptation: The True Test

Some factors are accepted more freely than others.

The contention in Melbourne was that the balance was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the best players were prevented from playing their natural game.

This level of cricket is about finding solutions – interpreting the situation and adapting effectively. The two highest individual contributions were made by world-class players. One side committed more errors than the other, and thus ended up second best.

Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited

Try telling the devotees who have suffered years of defeat that this wasn't compelling.

In a corner of the ground, thousands celebrated and sang their songs, producing a carnival vibe in a heartland of Australian cricket.

There was hope as the attack dominated, advantage when batters scored quickly, and unconditional love when the result was secured.

Polar Opposites: The Spectrum of Test Matches

The Melbourne has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a match there featured a strip with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.

That contest was a slog, with few wickets and slow play. The latest encounter and that drawn affair are polar opposites of the range – neither perfect, yet significance can be found in both.

Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the shortest games that will live longest in the memory.

"Far from being the end of the format at all," observed a former player. "The people who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been given some genuine drama. An unusual spectacle."

Small Victories: Building for the Future

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

The players delivered for him, bringing back the smile to his persona.

Emerging talents performed with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but something to use as a platform.

In the end, this triumph joins other historic performances in similar circumstances.

As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the players congregated on the turf to begin their own enjoyment.

Enjoy the drink, men. You've earned this one.