'Was That Not a Show?' Why a 48-Hour Match Remained Every Bit a Genuine Cricket Test.

Within a showcase on the third floor of the iconic Melbourne stadium is housed a electric pink outfit worn by the pop star. The concert in front of 100,024 fans was seen as a success.

Perhaps you don't enjoy his music. Perhaps you believe he is the ultimate present to music the world has ever seen. Or you could adopt a balanced view, conceding that some tracks are excellent while others are terrible.

The key argument is that entertainment can manifest in countless ways. You like what you like. There is no one way to produce music or even five-day cricket.

The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format

The five-day game boasts incomparable variety. One struggles to think of another sport where the contest is so reliant upon conditions.

The weather, the hour of play, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the playing surface.

If Test cricket is an artistic pursuit, the strip is the canvas on which the players paint their masterpiece.

A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle

The Boxing Day fixture between the two sides was Test cricket cubism, the great game dismantled and reassembled in an unusual manner.

This is not a defence of the surface which yielded a victory and the second two-day Test of the Ashes battle.

Having a thick layer on the wicket, causing 36 wickets falling in less than a brief period, is not a balanced duel between offense and defense.

A Varied History: The Nature of Test Cricket

But any notion this was a lesser event, one that should be qualified as not a proper Test, is mistaken.

The format is a diverse canvas, a long history and still growing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the seamers. Other times, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is flat as a pancake, other times it spits like a cobra.

The close matches are even more exciting because of the patience devoted elsewhere.

Problem Solving: The Real Challenge

Specific conditions are tolerated more freely than others.

The argument in during the match was that the balance was skewed excessively towards the bowlers. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.

Test cricket is about finding solutions – reading the conditions and responding accordingly. The top two individual contributions were made by world-class players. One line-up made more mistakes than the other, and thus lost.

Sheer Celebration: For Those Who Waited

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

Among the crowd of the MCG, thousands waved their flags and chanted, producing a party atmosphere in a bastion of national pride.

There was optimism as the bowlers surged, momentum when the top order responded, and unconditional love when the win was confirmed.

Contrasting Examples: The Spectrum of Test Matches

The Melbourne has form with difficult wickets. In the past, a Test there featured a strip with the character of a a damp squib.

That match was a marathon, with minimal action and endless boredom. The two-day game and that drawn affair are extreme ends of the spectrum – one is not more ideal, yet significance can be ascribed to each.

Four Tests into the Ashes contest, it is the two-day matches that will be most remembered in the history books.

"Far from being the death of Test cricket at all," said a past champion. "Fans who have been lucky enough to see these 48 hours have been treated to some real entertainment. A unique show."

Signs of Progress: A Glimmer of Hope

In the preparation to this Test, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the enormous pressure on his mind.

The squad protected him, reinstating the joy to his persona.

New faces stepped up with vital performances. These are incremental gains, certainly not enough to ensure long-term success, but a starting point to use as a platform.

In the end, this triumph is added to other notable performances in meaningless games.

As the crowd slipped away into a beautiful night, the squad gathered on the field to start their own enjoyment.

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