Test cricket revolves around history. It's built on a foundation of Bradman's eloquent deeds of the past, the remarkable West Indian teams of the 1970s and 1980s, through to the all-conquering Australian sides featuring the likes of Warne, McGrath and Ponting.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But the times, they are a changing. Outside of the marquee contests involving the big four - Australia, England, South Africa and India - interest is waning in the game's longest format.
Heck, even the staunchest fan was cured of insomnia by watching the Proteas dawdle their way through 72 overs for as many runs in a battle of survival on the sub-continent this week.
We've already seen Test cricket break new ground with the inaugural day-night match.
The overwhelming television ratings success and the huge crowds has forced Cricket Australia to declare (pardon the pun) that Tests played outside the school holiday period should be held under lights.
Hello, Canberra.
If there is any other box we need to tick to justify our debut on the Test cricket calendar I'd like to know what it is.
The only question mark would be over the highway that doubles as the Manuka Oval pitch. The lack of sideways movement, any sort of assistance for the fast bowlers and the slowness of the surface don't exactly guarantee exciting cricket.
My sleep patterns definitely improved after sitting through the two excruciating days of the tour match between the Cricket Australia XI and New Zealand in October.
Four wickets in 180 overs of play won't be bringing crowds through the gate or the public flocking to their television sets.
But a placid pitch isn't an issue restricted solely to Canberra. Flat surfaces are all the rage at cricket venues across the world to cope with the explosion of Twenty20 cricket. It's all about fours and sixes with no respect at all for giving the bowlers some sort of encouragement.
So let's assume, with plenty of notice, the ground staff at Manuka Oval can come up with a solution to the pitch.
In that case, Canberra should be getting a Test match next summer. Yes, it will be at the expense of Hobart, but is that such a bad thing?
A Test match is an event that should be shared around. The beauty of the Olympic Games is that they are held every four years. That's why they are so special.
It's about the expectation and the build-up. What if Canberra and Hobart each had a Test match every three or four years? How would that affect the crowds knowing it would be a decent wait before it would be back.
I'd like to think the claims I'm hearing that a Test match in Canberra would be a sell-out on the first day are true.
The target of an aggregate 35,000 attendance is probably a bit optimistic at an average of 7000 per day if the match goes the distance.
Of course, the calibre of the opposition impacts on the interest in the contest. Promoting a much-hyped Ashes Test or Australia v South Africa is a much easier sell than the shemozzle that is the West Indies.
The first Test match in Canberra's 103-year history - no matter who it is against - would draw a crowd. Even if it's against Pakistan next summer around this time of the year.
Most schools are on summer holidays and Cricket ACT would suspend grade cricket competitions that weekend to ensure as many people as possible could attend the Test.
The 2017-18 summer is a five-Test Ashes series, so both Canberra and Hobart would miss out. What happens after then would largely be luck of the draw? Hobart would probably be re-installed to the calendar, with Canberra to rotate in the next time there is a sixth Test.
Easily the most controversial comments to come out of this whole discussion has been that money is the only motivating factor in bringing Test cricket to Canberra.
As a business case, Canberra stacks up. Crowds have been fantastic for the international games at Manuka Oval since the redevelopment in 2013 and the ground has low operating costs compared to other venues.
But to say it's all about the dollars is completely disrespectful to the people of Canberra who love their sport and the development of the game in this region.
It's not just Canberra. It's the Riverina, it's the south coast, it's the central west and the Murray regions of NSW.
Canberra broke a century of tradition when it hosted the Australian cricket team for the first time in 2013. Now it's time to continue to evolve and bring the game's ultimate prize to the people and play a day-night Test match at Manuka Oval next year.
