When Zaheer Khan bowled the first ball of the match to Andrew Strauss at Lord's today, Test cricket reached a wonderful milestone: 2,000 not out.
There are those who insist that this is in fact the 1,999th Test and that the 'Super Test' between Australia and a World XI in 2005 should not count, yet this is surely no time for such nitpicking.
Of greater concern is whether the oldest form of the game will make it to 3,000. Dwindling audiences across the world, along with the advent and advance of Twenty20 cricket, are worrying developments for those who cherish Test matches.
The milestone reached today should provide both a reason for celebration and a concerted effort to ensure that Tests can thrive again.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has suggested that the final of a World Test Championship might be a timeless Test in order to avoid a draw.
It is an interesting idea and at least the match would not have to be abandoned because one of the teams had a boat to catch.
That was what happened when England faced South Africa in Durban in March 1939, when, after 10 days' cricket, England had to leave to board their ship home. Such quirky tales enrich the history of Test cricket but it is for the deeds of its great players and the remarkable matches that it is remembered.
Sir Don Bradman ended his career with an average of 99.94, missing out on averaging 100 only because he was dismissed for a duck in his final game at The Oval in 1948.
Sir Garfield Sobers was unparalleled among all-rounders. Then there were the great teams - from recent memory, the West Indies side led by the highly respected Sir Clive Lloyd and Steve Waugh's ruthless Australians spring to mind - and the great matches.
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Who will be the next to join them? Who knows? The joy of Test cricket remains its ability to surprise us and it should never lose that enduring appeal.
