'Did It Not Captivate?' Why a Two-Day Fixture Was No Less a Proper Test Match.

Within a glass case on the third floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is housed a electric pink outfit donned by the entertainer. The show in front of 100,024 spectators was hailed as a success.

Perhaps you don't like Robbie Williams. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. Alternatively, you may hold a balanced view, conceding that some songs are fantastic while others are awful.

The central idea is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is not a single method to craft literature or even the longest format.

The Peerless Spectrum of The Long Game

Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the outcome is so dictated by external factors.

The weather, the session, the ball – the variables are numerous. Crucially is the wicket.

If the long game is a form of art, the wicket is the canvas on which the athletes craft their legacy.

An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match

The recent Melbourne match between Australia and England was an abstract version of cricket, the traditional sport broken apart and stuck back together in abstract form.

This is not a justification of the surface which yielded a triumph and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.

Leaving 10mm of grass on the surface, causing a cascade of wickets being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.

A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket

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

The format is a rich tapestry, 2,615 parts and counting. At times, as seen at the MCG, the ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a dry surface. Sometimes, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it bounces unevenly.

The close matches are even more exciting owing to the time committed during quieter periods.

Adaptation: The Core Skill

Specific conditions are tolerated more freely than others.

The argument in at the MCG was that the balance was tipped too far towards the bowlers. That the best players were unable from demonstrating their skill.

This level of cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the situation and responding effectively. The top two individual innings were made by recognized stars. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.

Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited

Try telling the devotees who have endured a long drought that this wasn't compelling.

In one section of the ground, thousands celebrated and created an atmosphere, fostering a party atmosphere in a stronghold of national pride.

There was hope as the bowlers excelled, momentum when the top order responded, and pure joy when the result was secured.

Extreme Ends: The Variety of Test Matches

The Melbourne has a history with pitch problems. Previously, a Test there featured a strip with the excitement of a a non-event.

That fixture was a marathon, with limited drama and interminable tedium. The two-day game and that previous match are extreme ends of the scale – both are not perfect, yet value can be ascribed to each.

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

"It's not the demise of the long game at all," said a former player. "Spectators who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been experienced some genuine drama. A unique show."

Small Victories: Looking Ahead

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

The squad responded for him, bringing back the smile to his countenance.

Different players delivered with vital performances. These are incremental gains, hardly enough to secure long-term stability, but a starting point to develop from.

In the end, this MCG win is added to other historic performances in similar circumstances.

As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the team gathered on the outfield to commence their own enjoyment.

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