In time, it is less than a year since cheating by the Austalian test captain, his vice-captain and a novice batsman not only began a period of disgrace but extended the run of dreadful performances by the national team.

Now, on the strength (and that might be using the word rather loosely) of two test match victories against Sri Lanka, described as the worst batting team to come here in many years, we are expected to believe - from the coverage of Australian-based media outlets, newspapers included - all is forgiven, the national team is back on top and the three cheats will be welcomed back with open arms.

Plenty of cricket tragics don’t see it that way. There are still many problems in the sport across the nation, not the least being the format of the Big Bash League although it has been a shining example of winning many people and families back to the cricket grounds; but, the biggest concern is the fracturing of the Sheffield Shield competition into two halves of the summer and failing noticeably as the training ground for the nation’s test cricket team.

No less a person than former Test opening batsman, Matthew Hayden, has slammed the state of first class pitches and blamed this on the drop-in pitches; he has enormous support for his criticism.   

What is exciting though is that last Friday, Manuka Oval, Canberra, became the world’s 118th test cricket ground and Australia’s 11th.  

Manuka is a wonderful sports oval, at which my only glimpse of Sir Donald batting occurred when he accepted, at the age of 54 and 15 years after his final first class match, to accept the invitation of PM, Sir Robert Menzies, to come out of retirement and play against England in the 1962-63 season against Ted Dexter’s England team.

Bradman clipped the second delivery of part-time “leggie”, Tom Graveney, straight down the ground for a four but departed the next over.

There are two other reasons to mention Manuka. As my foray into cricket administration became much more illustrious than my playing days, as a Riverina delegate of the NSW Cricket and Country Cricket Associations we country delegates were able to push our state colleagues for Manuka’s emergence as the top southern representative oval for cricket and eventually Sheffield Shield level and then one-day international level so that regional people could see more first class cricket without going to capital cities.

Just a few seasons ago Manuka hosted a BBL final for the men’s and women’s leagues on the same day.

Now the column is proposing that Cricket Australia takes a positive and unique stand in the interests of making the Sheffield Shield competition great again. Not only should CA play the Shield competition in a full, uninterrupted season but stage it entirely in regional Australian cities like Canberra and Cairns which now have hosted Tests but also elevate cities like Wangaratta, Albury, Bendigo, Wagga and others for annual Shield matches; ultimately perhaps to an occasional Test.

To resolve Hayden’s concern about drop-in pitches CA should entice local councils and cricket administrations to each develop an adequate regional cricket complex.

It might be appropriate to end the column by referring to the great British cricket commentator, journalist and author, John Arlott. He didn’t always place Test cricket on a high pedestal like his modern-day contemporaries, many of whom have such shallow knowledge about the sport’s and their own profession’s history unlike Arlott. It has been said of the great man, “the democratic views and wise counsel that earned him so much respect in the cricket world and his moderation and tact that helped in some tight corners, notably during the Packer Affair when he strove to keep the Players’ Association of which he was president, neutral” are attributes that should be well researched and practised by members of the metropolitan sports media in Australia, not to mention the political fraternity to whom  reference was made earlier.

Arlott was a great advocate of county cricket and it is recalled he once wrote that between commentary periods at a county ground he liked nothing better than to spend his rest period on a deck chair in the outer; perhaps if CA saw some merit in the column’s suggestion for the Sheffield Shield’s future those in regional Australia might sample some of the same.