It's been spoken of and bantered about many, many times but it is an inescapable fact of life ... it is always marvellous to get one over the Aussies.
Or in this case many overs in over the Aussies.
Over and out ... oh, not too many outs I hope.
Okay, let's quit with the dopey wordplay right now and cut to the chase.
Oh, I hope the chase won't be too daunting ... (insert groaning sounds here).
Yes, 'tis the season of leather and willow and what better way to get the great summer gig under way than with a test series battle against the Aussies.
And this could be an intriguing series, given that names like Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Chris Rogers and Shane Watson are no longer on the Australian card.
We had all our great veteran guns still there for the rugger battle but the Aussies are embarking on their first major cricket series of the season without a fair slice of theirs.
So could this be the component that may see the Black Caps forge their first test series on Aussie soil in 30 years?
Yep, it's been that long.
Back in 1985 when a chap called Richard Hadlee was sending down screamers.
We have a lot of experience and they have a fair number of relative rookies set to don the pads, and of course the coaches will still be smarting from the memories of that English summer series which saw them get rolled by their hosts.
Now of course there is an art to watching test cricket because they tend to go (if both sides find batting form) for five days.
That's a long time for a match that can end in a draw.
So one must be like the former English opener Geoffrey Boycott and be very patient and be prepared to slumber about for a very long time ... between drinks.
But you get the best view of the pacemen and you get the close-ups as the wicketkeepers sledge away gleefully, and you get the "snicker" and the slow-mo' replays of potential el-bees.
And the fridge is just a 20-second walk away, as are the "ablutions".
Unlike being at the ground, the chances of missing a wicket falling are greatly lessened.
And then of course if rain interrupts everything on that field so far away then you have to go outside and get those lawns sorted, or worm the cat, or whatever else needs doing.
And, hey, if you have to go to work on Thursday then do not fret because as I pointed out earlier, a test is five days ... so by Saturday and Sunday it should be at the stage where the signals are starting to emerge as to who is on top.
It'll be good to see Brendon McCullum back on the stand ... I mean the crease.
-Test Cricket, New Zealand vs Australia, Sky Sport 1 at noon Thursday: And Friday, and Saturday, and Sunday and Monday. It's at The Gabba so weather is a major factor, given we are talking semi-tropics. So I checked the Brissie long-range forecasts and we have showers on Thursday, partly cloudy on Friday, possible showers and thunder on Saturday, rain on Sunday and partly cloudy Monday. Okay ... where's the cat ... there's a little job to be done matey.
ON THE BOX
* INXS - Never Tear Us Apart, TV3 at 8.30pm Thursday:
A story about rock 'n' roll. A story about a band started by a couple of Aussie brothers by the name of Farriss and a young singer who had a remarkable spark, Michael Hutchence. They began at the bottom and got to the top, so expect the drugs, the issues, the loose times, the arguments, the tragedy ... the whole deal. This got rave reviews when it screened in the band's home country so that says a lot. Luke Arnold as the troubled Hutchence is superb.
Oh, and guess what? INXS played in Napier at the Sound Shell back in the'80s.
* Last of the Summer Wine, Jones at 7pm Monday to Friday:
This gentle, often silly but genuinely appealing British series seems to have gone on forever, which I suppose is what a great summer wine should do. Compo may have gone, and Foggy, Eli, Edie and Wesley Pegden, and many others, but Truly, Howard, Ivy at the cafe, Nora Batty and dear old Clegg are still there doing practically nothing at all except look colourfully exciting.
It is a rare series, which attracted cameo walk-ons by people such as Norman Wisdom and even John Cleese. It started in 1973 and ended in 2010 ... a vintage television drop.
