This article, by Justin Baiocchi, was originally published in The Northern Daily Leader on 19 November 2016.

We’re only a few weeks away from the official start of summer – a time for outdoor barbeques, relaxing around the pool, planning the beachside holiday and the lazy drone of test cricket on the radio. In fact, my favourite part of summer is the start of the cricket test season. Cricket, particularly test cricket, is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Many would rather watch grass grow, than spend eight hours at the ground, hoping not to miss the sole five minutes of action with an ill-timed toilet trip. I recall one day at a test match may years ago, where only five wickets fell and I missed every one, either being in the aforementioned toilet or stuck in the beer/food queue. For other people the language of cricket stops them from understanding the game. This is a valid criticism – cabbage patch, cow corner, googly, jaffa, long hop, silly mid-on, yorker and dibbly-dobbly are just a few of cricket’s unusual terms. There are whole websites dedicated to demystifying the language of cricket, principally aimed at Americans, who unfortunately remain steadfastly immune to cricket’s charms.

The other aspect of test cricket which bamboozles many, is the confusing ebb and flow of a test match. Even though a team can be in the lead partway through a match, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. An expert in the game would mournfully shake their head, pointing out that the new ball was still to come, the bowler was a trundler, the keeper had missed a dolly and the pitch was a bunsen burner. In test cricket, a team can be in front yet still be behind. And what other sport venerates a player who can bat for two days to save a game, while only making 35 runs? If you grew up on a diet of basketball, rugby, or soccer, with non-stop action and a plethora of points, tries or goals, then test cricket’s sedate and meandering pace is probably not for you. Perhaps that aberration, T20 cricket, might be more to your liking, but the purists know that Don Bradman turns in his grave every time a T20 match is staged.

In many ways, test cricket is much like the investment process. There is the same arcane and indecipherable language; the long periods of boredom interspersed with moments of terrifying action and the vague feeling that no-one really knows what is going on. And truth be told, perhaps that’s how it should be. Action-packed investing is not going to deliver the outcomes you expect. Wealth creation is a slow and deliberate process – just be sure not to be stuck in the investment ‘toilet’ when all the action occurs.