'Was That Not a Show?' The Reason a 48-Hour Match Was No Less a Authentic Cricket Test.

In a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the MCG is housed a vibrant pink suit donned by the pop star. The show in front of 100,024 spectators was considered a success.

It's possible you like his music. Maybe you feel he is the greatest gift to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a reasonable stance, admitting that some songs are excellent while others are terrible.

The point being is that amusement can manifest in countless ways. Tastes vary. There is no one way to create art or even five-day cricket.

The Unrivalled Depth of Test Cricket

The traditional format boasts peerless complexity. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on external factors.

The climate, the hour of play, the ball – the list is endless. Above all is the pitch.

If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes create their art.

A Test of Cubism: The Fourth Test

The Boxing Day fixture between the old rivals was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.

Let's be clear, this isn't a endorsement of the surface which produced a triumph and the second two-day Test of the contest.

Having excessive grass on the surface, causing numerous dismissals tumbling in less than two days, is not a fair contest between batter and bowler.

A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket

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

Test cricket is a varied portfolio, over two thousand matches and ongoing. At times, as seen at the MCG, the cricket ball does all sorts for the fast men. In contrast, it grips and turns on a spinning track. At other venues, the pitch is unresponsive, other times it explodes.

The thrillers are particularly captivating because of the investment committed in other matches.

Adjustment: The True Test

Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.

The debate in Melbourne was that the contest was tipped too far towards the fielding side. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.

Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – interpreting the wicket and responding effectively. The top two individual innings were made by acknowledged stars. One team was less disciplined than the other, and thus ended up second best.

Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited

Go and inform the supporters who have experienced 18 winless matches that this wasn't compelling.

In a corner of the MCG, a sea of people waved their flags and created an atmosphere, producing a carnival vibe in a bastion of Australian cricket.

There was belief as the bowlers excelled, momentum when the top order fought back, and pure joy when the win was secured.

Contrasting Examples: The Range of Test Matches

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

That fixture was a grind, with minimal action and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the spectrum – one is not more the standard, yet value can be ascribed to both.

Four Tests into the current series, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the history books.

"It's not the death of Test cricket at all," commented a former player. "The people who have been lucky enough to see these short time have been experienced some genuine drama. Different entertainment."

Signs of Progress: Building for the Future

In the build-up to this Test, the skipper addressed the media like a man carrying the weight of the world on his mind.

The players delivered for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his face.

Emerging talents delivered with key contributions. These are baby steps, hardly enough to ensure long-term stability, but something to use as a platform.

In the end, this Melbourne victory takes its place among other historic performances in similar circumstances.

As the crowd departed into a stunning sunset, the team congregated on the field to begin their own festivities.

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