Two cricketing worlds collide next week. Australia and India meet on Friday in Perth in the opening Test of what promises to be an epic encounter – the first five-match series between the two great rivals since 1991-92. Five-match Test series used to be the norm. However, with the exception of England v Australia, they have become rare. One‑day cricket, and especially Twenty20, has eroded the time available for the longest form of the game, forcing series to be shortened to three or even two matches. What used to be a novel lasting all summer has become a novella, over in a trice. But in this Australian summer, something like tradition again rules. Five Tests spread over a month and a half, with the Christmas and new year Tests in Melbourne and Sydney in their time‑honoured place.
The new cricket world, however, won’t let tradition........