Will Rayner reckons more Pimm’s will be drunk at the Adelaide Oval over the next five days than at any single event except the tennis at Wimbledon. But only if the second cricket Test between Australia and India lasts that long.

That won’t do much to dispel the common sledge of the Oval during Tests, that it is a gathering place for well-heeled burghers of the South Australian capital more interested in drinking champagne and summer cocktails in the gourmet tents behind the grandstands than the game.