Our fling with Test cricket this summer is now over. A summer fling with a beautiful woman, they type of woman who makes you wonder if it was all a dream, a fling so short that you're convinced it was a dream. Don't be sad that it's over, be happy that it even happened and with weird antics from New Zealand Cricket, the International Cricket Council continuing to neglect cricket's international growth and Australian's apparently doing the most un-Australian thing possible (cheating); we should definitely be happy that we at least got four Tests to enjoy this summer.

We should definitely be happy that we were able to enjoy one of the nuances of Test cricket that lures us in as lovers of this format, on the final day of that fling. As Ish Sodhi and Neil Wagner toiled diligently, the art of saving a Test was on full display and this specific nuance hasn't been all too present in kiwi cricket over the past five years. Thus, watching two bowlers do their nation proud in fighting off an eager England bowling attack was a fitting way to end the summer.

As the most vocal critic of Lesson, I can't find fault in the Blackcaps Test team or selections. There are of course minor details, blips on the radar like Jeet Raval suffering the mandatory run-scoring plateau of all fresh Test batsmen, however making grand judgements about the Blackcaps in Test cricket right now is foolish.

The lack of Test cricket this summer meant that there would be no opportunities for players to play themselves out of the team. Your club team's scorer could have selected a Blackcaps Test squad for the summer and there would be no dramas. Any differences of opinion on selections are purely opinion as there is not enough evidence to celebrate or critique individuals.

Changes came through injuries and I'd suggest that for a couple Tests on home soil, we are blessed with enough options that two or three different players could have been promoted. Tom Blundell (25.11avg in Plunket Shield this season) replaced BJ Watling in the West Indies series; we have Tim Seifert (50.21avg) and Dane Cleaver (39.41avg) as options. Mitchell Santner gets injured; we have Todd Astle and Ish Sodhi as options.

There were not enough Tests to make performance based changes and the perhaps the low key major takeaway from this summer is that we have depth, given that the forced changes didn't impact the team in any way. As I have always said, we have young players in Aotearoa who are good enough to play Test cricket, they just need to be developed properly.

What we have now is nice, for Tests on home soil. Not only do I refuse to make judgements on the Blackcaps as a team and individuals after a four-Test summer, I refuse to offer opinions about Henry Nicholl's Test credentials until he has played in England, Australia, Sri Lanka or West Indies.

Colin de Grandhomme looked pretty good with the ball as a stereotypical kiwi medium-pacer and showed some nice development with his batting, chur to him and we'll see how this translates across different conditions.

This is why I find it strange when others are publishing content of the positive or negative variety about the team or individuals. What we have now is nice, take it for what it is, but in terms of doing my job in providing judgements and opinions, I have no ground to stand on until we see this group play overseas.

So don't expect any for the rest of the year. The Blackcaps haven't played a Test overseas since touring India in 2016 and there's nothing on their calendar for 2018. Everything's honki-dory when you're not playing overseas for two years.

It has literally been impossible for Lesson to do wrong in Test cricket this summer, which is why it was a weird ol' way to finish this Test and subsequently the kiwi summer. Wagner and de Grandhomme helped immensely and Tom Latham soaked up some pressure at the top of the order, but Ish Sodhi was there not out; Ish Sodhi saved a Test with his bat.

The last day of the summer was headlined by Sodhi's batting, after Sodhi had been shunned all summer because of, his batting. Todd Astle was selected in this Test series to replace Mitchell Santner and we all know why. Now, the lasting image of the kiwi summer is Sodhi's batting.

I'm still very much of the belief that Sodhi is a better leg-spinner than Astle. The exact reason why Sodhi didn't look so flash with the ball in this Test is the reason why Sodhi should consistently play Test cricket, why he should have played consistently up to this point and should play in the future; Sodhi needs Test cricket repetition.

The only way Sodhi gets better is by playing more and the selection yo-yo that Sodhi has been on in Test cricket only makes it harder for him. Sodhi can perform in Plunket Shield and he dominates as domestic batsmen don't have the patience, nor the skill to deal with Sodhi. In limited overs cricket, batsmen are attacking Sodhi and that rarely works out for them. Test batsmen have the patience and skill to deal with Sodhi right now, for Sodhi to figure out these nuances of leg-spin bowling in Test cricket, he needs repetition.

Whether it's Sodhi, Astle (I just think Sodhi has a higher ceiling), Raval, Nicholls, Latham, de Grandhomme or any other new Blackcaps Test player, selectors, fans and jokers have to respect the adjustment to Test cricket. Test cricket ain't easy, Test cricket overseas is even harder and players need time to suss out the beast of Test cricket.

The funk of Sodhi saving the Test with his bat stretches back a bit further when you also consider what happened in the ODI series. Sodhi only got his chance in that series as injury cover for Santner and Astle, then - through injury or weird Lesson shit - he got a run ahead of Astle and absolutely made the most of it.

Astle made the most of his opportunity in the first Test, then his injury gave Sodhi and opportunity. Sodhi responded by saving the Test with his bat, chuck Santner back in the mix and who knows where these three are ranked when it comes time to debate the next Test squad selections.

That low key takeaway of depth is important. I know we are in a golden period of kiwi cricket, or that we have just entered this period and don't let anyone tell you that we don't have depth, nor the best young talent (quality and quantity) that I've seen in my lifetime. The signs are there and as we bid farewell to this summer's Blackcaps cricket, prepare yourselves for, well I dunno.

Just be prepared. After the World Cup, Blackcaps cricket will get supremely funky.

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Peace and love 27.