How do we save Test cricket?

That's a question that has been doing the rounds a fair bit in recent months and it's a question that I don't really care for. Test cricket is going all good - those who love it, love it and support it while Test cricket is enjoying some of the fringe benefits of T20 cricket's existence ($$). Sure crowds don't look all that flash and what not, but that's compared to limited overs cricket and if you give people more choices, they tend to gravitate towards the product that's easiest to digest.

Forget 4-day Test's and any other silly little idea to revive Test cricket because I've found the answer; one-off Test cricket.

No, stop. That's obviously a ridiculously stupid idea because Test cricket and Test series' are about the chess match, the patience and grit as well as the repetitive battle of bat and ball that not only builds up throughout a Test, but throughout a Test series.

Thanks to sillyness that isn't linked to the apparent sillyness we saw in Durban, we now have a one-off Test and it just doesn't feel right. That's the danger when you schedule a two-Test series and regardless of where or when that two-Test series is, you're always walking a tightrope with Mother Nature than one of those Test's may not play out in its entirety.

It's at this point where I ponder what's worse - a one-off Test vs a two-Test series.
Neither should exist, especially not when the two teams involved provide a deliciously juicy match up which we got a cheeky glimpse of in Durban. Aotearoa and South Africa should be playing five Test's, instead we've been served up this extremely weird Test series that left no margin for error, resulting in a one-off Test.

By the sounds of it, the Centurion pitch in Pretoria won't quite be as lively as the Kingsmead pitch in Durban. We were graced with another example of The Stable's depth as seam-friendly conditions meant that Doug Bracewell came in for Ish Sodhi, giving the kiwis a four-pronged pace attack with Mitchell Santner offering the spin. As Aotearoa chases the No.1 Test spot, there needs to be options available to Mike Hesson and Kaptain Kane and after seeing both Sodhi and Santner rolled out on pitches in Zimbabwe that favoured spin, in Durban we saw an adjustment made to make the most of the swing and seam on offer.

This was possible because in Bracewell and Matt Henry, the Blackcaps have bowlers who are worthy of Test cricket ... because Sodhi is a bowler who is ideal to capitalize on spinning conditions and because Santner is a freak who can bat and bowl equally well.

Our bowling attack did the job and that's perhaps the only major take-away from the day's play in Durban. Tim Southee and Trent Boult were near their best which was a great sign, Neil Wagner picked up from where he left off in Zim, but it's the ability to make a change here or there in the bowling attack that struck me as the key learning. We might see this again with the Centurion pitch likely to not offer the same movement for the seam bowlers.

A minor take-away was Martin Guptill's innings which didn't exactly fill me with confidence. Granted, Guptill was made to look rather mediocre by Dale Steyn who was hoopin' it away from Guppy's outside-edge after the South African batting line up suffered largely a similar fate; hence it's only a minor take-away. What worries me is that Guptill was playing all-round his front pad, kinda like Shane Watson had a habit of doing and against Steyn and his comrade Vernon Philander - both of whom move the ball - Guptill could be made to look like a bunny when he opts to plant that front pad and wave his wand ahead of it.

Simply put - we're back where we started. In a way, it's kinda cool because the first Test got lost amongst the Olympics just as Jon Snow got lost amongst that pile of dead bodies in Game of Thrones and here we are, with the Olympic dust settled, preparing to digest the oddity of what is effectively a one-off Test.

As was the case for the first Test, much of my attention will zone in on the bowlers as I still think both batting line ups are fairly evenly matched. As we'll probably see conditions that don't favour the seamers as much as they did in Durban, I'm even more intrigued by the performances of the respective bowling attacks. Most Test bowlers would have fancied their chances in Durban and the real challenge is posing a similar threat when conditions aren't quite as favourable, when there's a little nibble off the pitch or movement in the air but only when the ball is perfectly released and dished up in the perfect spot, luring the batsman into a false shot.

Aotearoa and South Africa both have bowlers who are capable of extracting any advantage from the pitch or air, who can do this with greater consistency and patience will get the upper hand. Putting my kiwi bias aside, I'm just excited to see two skillful bowling attacks go at it on a pitch that will require their very best work.

Pity we won't have five Test's of these two bowling attacks doing battle.