Why is an Indian who is a permanent resident of New Zealand desperately looking forward to the Ashes test series starting across the ditch? A takeaway dinner is good for a change, but it can never quite match the comforts of a roast lamb, gravy, spuds and vegetables.

Call me old school if you want but after 17 white ball games at the start of the Blackcaps summer of cricket, I am relishing the prospect of red ball cricket played in whites over five long days.

If life had a doppelganger, it would have to be test cricket. The similarities are just too hard to ignore. Probably the biggest similarity is that both normally offer you a second chance. Life also offers us multiple opportunities, and the ones who take every opportunity that comes their way often end up successful.

Partnerships - both batting and bowling - are the key to success in test cricket. Likewise, if you make good meaningful partnerships in life, you are likely to play a long fruitful innings. Sometimes in life it feels like the whole world is against you and your partner. Batting in a test match away from home can feel the same. Two vs 11 plus the entire stadium against you.

In our formative years we are all taught important values to help us be successful in life. Respect (the new ball, a good spell, your opponent), discipline (play close to your body, of line and length), patience (leave the good ones, wait for the ball to get older, wait for the bowlers to get tired, don’t go looking for the magic delivery), courage (take on the short ball), determination (hang in there when the ball is doing plenty, keep coming back spell after spell in trying to break a partnership). All these and many more get played on loop in every session of a test match.

Most of us work hard for five days a week, and maybe that’s where the appreciation for test cricket comes from. Hard work over five long days. You have good days, you have average days, and you have bad days, but you still must turn up the next day, get back on the tools and finish the job.

Currently, in a world that is an extreme place where everybody desperately wants to win, I love the fact that there is still a place for a well-fought-out draw in test cricket. Play hard, play fair, and at the end of five long days if you cannot defeat your opponent, then you look them in the eye, shake their hand and say well played.

There is a reason most cricketers in the world look at test cricket as the pinnacle of the sport. Test runs weigh more, test wickets matter more, test hundreds are more respected, test fifers gain more regard. It’s because over five days the game tests your physical fitness, your mental toughness, your technique, your concentration, and your creativity in finding ways to win.

Commercial realities have resulted in franchise Twenty20 tournaments popping up at every roundabout in the world. I am happy that thanks to these tournaments, playing cricket is now a viable career option. But unfortunately, volume dilutes relevance, and fans hardly remember anything about the T20 game they watched yesterday. It’s only entertainment, nothing more. Only lust, not true eternal love.

T20 losses hurt you for 20 minutes, one day international losses hurt for a day, but test losses take a long time to get over. It’s a bit like an ex partner who is hard to get over. India failing to chase 120 against the West Indies in Bridgetown still hurts, India losing to Pakistan in Chennai in 1999 by 12 runs still hurts, the Blackcaps losing to Bangladesh at the Bay Oval in 2022 still hurts.

I remember the happy days too though. I remember Dravid & Laxman batting an entire day against Australia in 2001, I remember everything about the 2005 Ashes series, I remember McCullum’s triple hundred at the Basin and I remember the Blackcaps winning nail biters against England & Sri Lanka in 2023. Test cricket gives you many such “I remember that” or “I was there” memories that last you a lifetime.

The Blackcaps vs West Indies test series is a bit of a mismatch, but I will still be tuning in from ball one. The Ashes on the other hand is a mouth-watering prospect. Five grueling test matches being played between two well-matched teams. The absence of Pat Cummins and Todd Hazelwood in the first test balances the contest.

Get that Sky subscription, stock up the fridge with some cold ones, make sure the pantry has plenty of snacks, and get those lazy boys and bean bags in the right position. Sit back, relax and enjoy some bloody good test cricket.

Catch new episodes of the Devlin Sports Podcast Network (DSPN) every weekday on rova.