'Are You Not Entertained?' The Reason a Shortened Fixture Deserved Its Status as a Proper Test.

In a glass case on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium sits a neon pink outfit performed in by the entertainer. His concert in front of a hundred thousand attendees was considered a triumph.

Perhaps you don't enjoy the performer. Maybe you feel he is the ultimate present to music known to man. Or you could adopt a middle ground, acknowledging that some songs are fantastic while others are terrible.

The key argument is that entertainment can take many forms. You like what you like. There is no one way to create music or even the longest format.

The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format

Test cricket boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so dependent on the environment.

The elements, the time of day, the cricket ball – the factors are countless. Crucially is the pitch.

If the long game is art, the wicket is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.

An Abstract Contest: The MCG Match

The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was the game deconstructed, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in a bizarre shape.

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

Allowing 10mm of grass on the wicket, causing a cascade of wickets falling in less than two days, is not an even battle between offense and defense.

A Varied History: The Essence of Test Cricket

But any suggestion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is wide of the mark.

The format is a rich tapestry, a long history and counting. At times, as witnessed recently, the ball behaves unpredictably for the pace bowlers. In contrast, it turns square on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it bounces unevenly.

The exciting finishes are all the more thrilling because of the time committed during quieter periods.

Problem Solving: The True Test

Specific conditions are tolerated more readily than others.

The argument in Melbourne was that the contest was weighted unfairly towards the fielding side. That the top batters were unable from demonstrating their skill.

Test cricket is about adapting to challenges – assessing the situation and adjusting accordingly. The best individual innings were made by acknowledged stars. One team committed more errors than the other, and thus lost.

Sheer Celebration: The Supporters' View

Try telling the supporters who have experienced 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.

Among the crowd of the MCG, countless fans celebrated and sang their songs, generating a carnival vibe in a stronghold of national pride.

There was belief as the fielding side surged, impetus when the top order responded, and rapturous celebration when the result was confirmed.

Contrasting Examples: The Variety of Test Matches

The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. In the past, a game there featured a wicket with all the life of a a damp squib.

That contest was a grind, with few wickets and slow play. The two-day game and that drawn affair are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – both are not ideal, yet value can be ascribed to them.

Four Tests into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the memory.

"This isn't the death of the format at all," commented a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these two days have been given some fantastic sport. An unusual spectacle."

Small Victories: Looking Ahead

In the lead-in to this Test, the leader talked like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.

The players protected him, restoring the positive demeanor to his face.

Emerging talents stepped up with key contributions. These are small positives, not nearly enough to secure long-term stability, but a starting point to use as a platform.

Ultimately, this MCG win joins other historic performances in similar circumstances.

As the supporters departed into a glorious Melbourne evening, the squad congregated on the field to start their own festivities.

Celebrate the win, men. You've earned this one.