How many times have you heard the saying: "It’s not Cricket"?

As a phrase it is outdated and evokes images of stereotypes. Test cricket has evolved over the last 50 years from being just a game to a fully-fledged profession. It is no longer a leisurely pastime. It is a job that requires talent, sound work ethics and teamwork.

A university degree, as in the case of Mike Breareey, will not guarantee you success in the 21st century. Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and now Ricky Ponting are testimony to achievement without tertiary qualifications. They have degrees in tenacity, cricket acumen, mental disintegration  and team harmony.

Shane Warne only captained a few ODIs but he had a PHd, in Advanced and Applied Spin. These cricketers and others like Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Mark Waugh have made Test cricket more entertaining and result-oriented.
 
Scoring rates are nudging four an over in Tests and it is a rarity to have a draw (unless India are playing Pakistan). A draw between these two subcontinent cricketing giants is the best outcome in the name of peace.

The fielding has improved out of sight and no more do we see chubby men escorting the ball to the boundary. Limited over cricket has had a clear effect on speeding up Test cricket. More importantly the revenue generated from the shorter form of the game is the very lifeblood of the five-day game.

Test cricket is flourishing in Australia and England but is struggling in other countries. Box-office attractions like a Test series between India and Australia or Australia and England will always rate well. I see Twenty20 cricket having a similar influence on the 50-over game. Overs 20 to 40 in the 50 over game are predictable and are lacking intensity. There could be an evolution happening right now.
 
In our time-poor society the catch cry is instant gratification. Inevitably this will lead to a feeling of remorse and hankering for the good old days. When we have exhausted the finite possibilities of the shorter form we always return to the infinite permutations of Test cricket. In our saner moments we cherish what we blindly set out to destroy. This is like lamenting the lack of quality time spent with children or partners because you were so busy being instantly gratified.
 
There is a permanency to Test cricket that overcomes the fleeting nature of our daily pursuit for the dollar, or as the case is now, the Indian Rupee.