Their partnership was staggering but it can’t hide that all the talent and money is being bent now towards the churn of interchangeable franchise cricket

Et in Arcadia ego. One of the most striking parts of sport, outside the endless tribal rage, the venal commercialising of play, the alienation of the basic human experience to the extent people are now literately referred to as “eyeballs” (why not “dead souls”? Or just borrow straight from the bit of merchant banking where customers are referred to as “shitheads”) or indeed the way every single … Hang on. Where was I?

Yes. One of the best parts of sport is its ability to create clean, crisp, distinct islands of beauty. Sport still offers that quiet space. There is wonder here, and clarity on its own terms. It is also still the case that nothing does this quite like Test cricket.