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Cricket makes life worth living.

There’s a test match between NZ and England at the University Oval next to Logan Park, running from Wednesday to Sunday. Every Otago student should go.

That’s why I’m not writing this editorial about politics, ticking “no religion” in the census, or meathead O-Week antics. Cricket is more ​important than any of them.

Cricket is the most unique, strategic sport in existence. Bowlers and batsmen are locked into an individual duel within a team sport, and each has unique weapons at his disposal.

Bowlers can try to injure or intimidate the batsman, or lure him into any number of possible traps. Each batsman has to balance attack and defence over the course of several hours, knowing that a single mistake will doom him to standing in the field for a day and a half.

No other sport allows you to enjoy the spectacle of an incompetent, terrified batsman, picked in the team for his bowling, attempting to survive two hours against a ruthless fast bowler in order to secure a draw for his team. If rugby stole this idea and required one team to replace their props with wingers in the scrum for the last ten minutes of every game, it would be an altogether more entertaining sport.

I’m not going to go all Macklemore and say “I was five years old when I got my first bat / I stepped outside / And I was like, Momma, this Slazenger right here, it’s gonna make me fly.” But that’s pretty much what happened. In the end, you either love an activity or you don’t, and if you do, it’s often hard to articulate exactly why.

But even if you don’t understand cricket, you will love the Dunedin game. The University Oval is a picturesque venue with an amazing atmosphere. There will be sun. There will be beer and wine. There will be drunken, middle-aged Englishmen singing loud, abusive songs. You can lie on the grass bank and watch the game.

Fine, I’ll mention the census. Fuck the statisticians. Write “YOLO” as your religion, then embrace your newfound faith by spending a day at the Uni Oval.