It is strange how a game which attracts few spectators can draw so much attention. The drama of the drawn test between New Zealand and England engaged enormous interest on Tuesday afternoon up to its finish due to bad light with two balls to go at 6pm.
The twenty20 internationals, which take three hours, and the one-dayers, over seven hours of play, draw much larger crowds and higher television audiences than the five days of test matches.
Tests are often relegated to the margins, as in this season in New Zealand when two were in December and two in autumn. There is talk of tests disappearing, of a generation of supporters - and even cricketers themselves - who have little affinity for, or patience with, the long form.
Experiments have been undertaken with pink balls to try to win over evening audiences at the ground and on television, and four-day tests are even proposed.
Yet, the excitement of the test at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, and the completion of a rare test series win over England will be remembered long after the results of the one-day series are forgotten.
The heroics of Ish Sodhi (56 not out off 168 balls) and Neil Wagner (7 off 103 balls) will have much more lasting impact than the thundering 181 not out from Ross Taylor to rescue the one-day international for the Black Caps at the University Oval in Dunedin in February.
How, too, can test match cricket be confined to history when the ball-tampering of David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft in a test rocks Australia? There is plenty of life left, it would appear, in the old dog.
As is so often the case, an analysis of what happens in sport transfers to other spheres of life. The endurance of deeper and wider interest in test matches reflects the significance of substance and tradition, of depth and continuity.
Cheaper thrills and short-term pleasure seldom match the satisfaction and contentment of significant achievements or enjoyment savoured.
A common comparison is between fast food (popular and filling) as twenty20 contests and three-course meals as test matches. The latter is full of assorted flavours appreciated over an extended period. Each has a different role.
Similarly, the same might be said of news. The populist - typically lighter or sensational or entertainment news - wins the most readers, viewers and clicks.
But it is often the lesser-read reports which provide the news of importance. Sometimes, of course, news of gist breaks through to also win the most interest because it is momentous.
This is why cricket authorities would be foolish to banish test cricket to summer's outfields. Each type of cricket needs the other far more than is appreciated.
Short-form provides the cash and the quick entertainment, and long-form the depth and - outside world cups - the absolute highlights. Results and performances simply matter more.
The test in Christchurch epitomised the best of tests as fortunes swung on partnerships or a clatter of wickets, and as physical and mental skills of many orders were ''tested''. All competed fairly, too, in what should always be ''the spirit of cricket''.
New Zealand failed to defeat the sport's mothership, England, until 1978 (although not helped by three-day tests in England in 1949). The series win against England was the first at home since 1983-84.
No wonder holding on for a draw and the series win was so significant.
The cricket team has a history as well of tripping at the final big-match hurdle, so to fight all day after losing four wickets in the first hour on Tuesday was all the more elevated.
Captain Kane Williamson says the players want to play more tests, while man of the series Trent Boult says tests are his favourite format. Bring them on.
