The entire family's activity and meal schedule had to be built around the sessions of a game - and at least in those days they were absolutely set and could be relied upon for the stability of domestic routines.

But do Australians care as much about cricket these days?

A very rudimentary straw poll across the generations would say yes - at least in terms of the impending Ashes clashes.

But almost all have some reservations or disappointment about the current scene.

Older folk are bemused and confused about constant changes in session times, pink-ball or red-ball Tests in white clothes and white-ball shorter-form games in coloured clothes.

If they are focussed only on Test matches at least they can watch them on free-to-air television.

But many are still waiting to find out where they could have watched Australia's excellent recent victory in the T20 World Cup - wherever it was that it was held.

A colleague - definitely not of the older generation - expressed his frustration that, despite subscribing to multiple streaming services, not one of them had that coverage.

He thus determined to install himself at a neighbour's house through the early hours of the relevant morning.

Not great at all, but at least it absolves long-term fans of being tempted to start viewing the Indian Premier League and its eternal match schedule.

And of course, it should be noted that far from all Test matches are available on the standard television channels.

None of this can be good for fan retention among older viewers or those of any generation who cannot afford to buy a subscription at all on a regular basis.

And then there is the matter of who will be standing behind the stumps for Australia.

Alex Carey seems like a good guy with more than competent skills - so good luck to him.

But he shouldn't be there - just yet.

Tim Paine himself acknowledged that he acted immaturely on one occasion - and before he was Australian captain.

He was right - and if that's the sort of thing that happens to our best players in any sport, for men or women, when they find themselves in an exclusive bubble - then those elite groups of players need to find their way out of those ongoing situations quick smart.

But in the 21st century it was not a hanging offence.

Cricket Tasmania was on the ball when it castigated its counterparts in the national office and around the Cricket Australia board table for leaving Paine high and dry.

Their inability, and that of the anti-Paine commentariat, to seize the moment to draw some sort of line on what's expected of the nation's skipper in 2021 is a significant failing.

Poor Pat Cummins - he must be scanning his past to recall any nudie runs or misdemeanours during sculling (not the rowing kind) races or the like.

There must be a line somewhere - surely?

What is particularly extraordinary is the rhetoric from those who claim, with the benefit of hindsight, that they would have acted more strongly against Paine at the time of the initial investigation had they been in charge.

Yet with the absolute advantage of knowing what happened in South Africa with those bits of sandpaper - and of now actually being in charge - those same folk are happy to anoint Steve Smith as the team's new vice-captain and immediately by necessity any time Cummins is unable to act, as the captain once again.

The Paine case can be arguably categorised as a private matter.

Smith's failings went unequivocally to the very essence of the integrity of the activity in which he participates - then and again now as a leader and key influencer.

Cricket Australia is reportedly mulling over private equity investment to fund its future commitments and aspirations.

It would do well to instead get its house in order in terms of the story it wants fans to believe in and place them high in the order of importance when deciding on just about anything, including, of course, where this summer's fifth Test match will be played.