Thoughts from someone who has watched cricket for 60 days.
The most recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy took Australia for a ride right through Christmas of 2024. For those getting a first taste of cricket it was intoxicating, from watching some of the greatest batters of all time, Kohli and Smith, go head‑to‑head in a Test for the final time, to the emotional rollercoaster of Bumrah’s bowling and eventual victory. For Australia to at long last regain the trophy over the course of five blockbuster matches will remain with the Australian psyche for years to come.
Cricket first graced the MCG in 1803, and ever since has been a mainstay of the Australian summertime. Every year Australians silently slow down their work and switch on their TV to watch those in the baggy green, with the 2025-2026 summer cricket series being no different.
As a latecomer to the sport, much time was set aside to ensure every ball could be watched, but what the world was greeted with could hardly be labelled a Test.
Cricket fans are almost overwhelmed by choice: three different formats, leagues around the world – to try and get your head around the international state of play is a task no one person can accomplish.
Cricket in the modern day is a victim of its own success. Three different formats all fighting for air, but by all metrics one reigns supreme: Test cricket.
The drawcard of cricket is the storytelling it provides, and the only rivalry capable of meeting India and Australia is the rivalry as old as Australian cricket itself: Australia and England.
The best things in life come to those who wait, and this is no more true than in cricket. The Test format – five days – is heralded as the true show of skill and is rewarded by Australians as such. A true show of long‑term strategy, endurance and, most critically, drama, the format rewards those who understand how to bide their time and only strike when their time has come.
The marathon of the Test is rewarded by the punters, which is what made the latest Ashes the disappointment it was. Many viewers may partake from time to time in viewing T20 or ODI, but these forms play no substitute.
Some may call white‑ball the McDonald’s of cricket – easy to consume, full of thrill, but ultimately leaving one wanting more, a satiation that can only be met by Test cricket.
The novelty wears off the second time, for fans wishing to have their appetite met bore witness to a four‑innings ODI, whilst those wishing to see a third day of cricket are sorely disappointed.
Whilst England licks the wounds of yet another loss to Australia, the country mourns for the Test that could have been.
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