'Was That Not a Show?' The Reason a Shortened Test Deserved Its Status as a Proper Test.

Displayed inside a glass case on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a electric pink suit donned by Robbie Williams. The show in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a success.

You might not like the performer. You might think he is the greatest gift to music known to man. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, conceding that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.

The central idea is that entertainment can take many forms. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to create music or even five-day cricket.

The Incomparable Variety of Test Cricket

The five-day game boasts unrivalled depth. One struggles to think of another sport where the outcome is so dependent on conditions.

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

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

A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle

The fourth Ashes Test between the two sides was an abstract version of cricket, the great game taken to pieces and stuck back together in abstract form.

This is not a defence of the surface which yielded a triumph and the second two-day Test of the series.

Having a thick layer on the surface, causing numerous dismissals being taken in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.

A Varied History: The Core of Test Cricket

But any idea this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is wide of the mark.

Test cricket is a varied portfolio, 2,615 parts and still growing. At times, like in Melbourne, the ball moves excessively for the seamers. Other times, it turns square on a spinning track. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.

The close matches are all the more thrilling because of the patience devoted in other matches.

Problem Solving: The True Test

Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.

The debate in Melbourne was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the skilled individuals were unable from playing their natural game.

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

Pure Elation: The Fan Perspective

Go and inform the supporters who have experienced a long drought that this lacked spectacle.

Among the crowd of the stadium, thousands made noise and created an atmosphere, generating a festive mood in a heartland of sport.

There was hope as the attack surged, advantage when players responded, and rapturous celebration when the victory was achieved.

Extreme Ends: The Range of Test Matches

The Melbourne has form with controversial surfaces. Previously, a game there featured a pitch with all the life of a pulled Christmas cracker.

That match was a slog, with minimal action and interminable tedium. This recent match and that previous match are diametrically opposed points of the range – neither perfect, yet historical weight can be found in them.

Deep into the series into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will live longest in the history books.

"Far from being the end of the format at all," observed a veteran. "Spectators who have been privileged to see these short time have been treated to some real entertainment. A unique show."

Baby Steps: Looking Ahead

In the build-up to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.

The players protected him, bringing back the joy to his persona.

Different players stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term futures, but a foundation to build on.

In the end, this MCG win is added to other historic performances in meaningless games.

As the fans slipped away into a stunning sunset, the squad gathered on the field to begin their own celebrations.

Celebrate the win, boys. It's well deserved.