Mark Richardson: Time to get on with the serious matches of the summer

Right, the entertaining fluff is over and now's it time for the real thing.

This summer is all about the test series against India. It is the finale to the season.

While the summer may have started with the ever-challenging Australian series, there is most to gain from our final test opponents of 2008-09.

Twenty20 may be on the rise, generating money and crowds and ODIs still capture the imagination but test cricket is considered the ultimate and most important game by the cricketing powers.

So respect as a test nation must be first and foremost the goal of New Zealand. Regardless of what Sehwag, Tendulkar and co have done to us, the Black Caps have achieved plenty in ODI cricket in the past few years.

There have been World Cup semifinals and high ICC rankings but where has it really got us?

We certainly are not held in the same regard as a cricket nation as most and that is simply because our performance in the traditional creams has not been good enough.

India may be leading the Twenty20 charge but I suspect even they only really view all the razzmatazz as entertaining fluff with a lack of genuine substance.

They are a cricket mad nation but don't doubt for a second that they don't understand the raw cricket challenges the pure game provides. Respect is an underlying theme of this current tour by India - respect from Indian cricket towards New Zealand cricket.

A closer showing in the ODIs may have helped but I imagine the Indians have quite enjoyed our hospitality in the form of flat tracks, half volleys and full tosses. Now, though, is the time to show that we can compete in a fair contest.

The last time they were here, we competed and won on green wickets but achieved very little. All it did was incur the ire of the subcontinent superpower. This time, the goal must be good cricket, close cricket and the right sort of cricket.

If this happens, then India will leave here having given New Zealand cricket the nod of approval and right now, that seems the most logical way to a slice of the monetary pie. So can we put up a better showing in the test matches than the ODIs? Well, if the wickets are juiced up, we can. But if that becomes the directive, the groundstaff must get it just right.

If they overdo it, the result would be an even worse evil than being dressed up by the Indians on flat ones.

Just a little assistance in the early stages to bring our bowlers back into the game against the Indian top order is what is required.

The Indians have a long tail but we have to get to it. Just look at the new boy in our attack. Brent Arnel is a tidy bowler but he's very much your typical New Zealand seamer who trades on just enough pace, line and length.

It's the story of our whole attack. They will need help from the tracks to be effective but the good news is it doesn't take too much assistance to turn our medium-quicks from cannon fodder to quite effective.