'Was That Not a Show?' Why a 48-Hour Test Deserved Its Status as a Proper Cricket Test.

Within a display cabinet on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium rests a electric pink outfit worn by the pop star. The performance in front of 100,024 attendees was considered a major hit.

Perhaps you don't appreciate Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the greatest gift to music in history. You might take a middle ground, admitting that some hits are fantastic while others are awful.

The central idea is that enjoyment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is no universal formula to craft art or even Test cricket.

The Peerless Spectrum of The Test Format

The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. One struggles to think of another sport where the playing is so reliant upon external factors.

The climate, the session, the cricket ball – the list is endless. Crucially is the pitch.

If Test cricket is a form of art, the pitch is the canvas on which the athletes create their art.

A Broken-Down Battle: The MCG Match

The Boxing Day fixture between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in an unusual manner.

Let's be clear, this isn't a justification of the pitch which produced a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.

Having a thick layer on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets tumbling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between bat and ball.

A Rich Tapestry: The Nature of Test Cricket

But any notion this was a inferior show, one that should be qualified as inauthentic, is mistaken.

Test cricket is a rich tapestry, over two thousand matches and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the fast men. Sometimes, it grips and turns on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.

The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling due to the investment devoted in other matches.

Problem Solving: The True Test

Certain variables are tolerated more freely than others.

The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the attack. That the top batters were prevented from demonstrating their skill.

The format is about adapting to challenges – reading the situation and adapting accordingly. The two highest individual contributions were made by acknowledged batters. One team made more mistakes than the other, and thus were defeated.

Unbridled Joy: The Supporters' View

Go and inform the supporters who have suffered a long drought that this was not entertaining.

In one section of the ground, thousands waved their flags and chanted, fostering a party atmosphere in a heartland of national pride.

There was hope as the bowlers excelled, advantage when the top order fought back, and pure joy when the victory was achieved.

Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches

The venue has a history with pitch problems. In the past, a match there featured a wicket with the excitement of a pulled Christmas cracker.

That fixture was a grind, with limited drama and endless boredom. This recent match and that slow Test are polar opposites of the range – neither perfect, yet value can be attached to them.

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

"It's not the end of the long game at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been treated to some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."

Baby Steps: Looking Ahead

In the build-up to this match, the leader spoke like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.

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

New faces performed with crucial roles. These are baby steps, certainly not enough to secure long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.

Ultimately, this triumph takes its place among other memorable performances in dead rubbers.

As the fans departed into a stunning sunset, the players congregated on the turf to commence their own enjoyment.

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