Baking a slightly elaborate cake is like experiencing similar lessons as a test match.

For example, early on in the second session, when checking the doneness of the cake, I can't find a skewer/toothpick. I choose to jab it with a knife instead. It's almost done.

Much, much later, before the final session, that vertical slit has widened into a large crack as the cake cooled. As I lift with a spatula, the cake's sides sag and the crack widens enough to almost split the cake into two. Near disaster.

Or, in the session before this, I needed to whip egg whites in a large bowl. The one I had had batter on it. I quickly washed it & didn't take extreme care in wiping away any remaining, thin layers of detergent.

An hour later, 15 min with the handmixer and no stiff peaks.

You can plan all you want, and then in the heat of the moment, you have to make quick decisions that will have an impact way, way down the line.

What does it say about me that my experience of "enjoying" test cricket is basically experiencing elaborately crafted disasters?

But back to cakes, or any form of cooking/baking/creation, I really have come to appreciate the value in being calm and present throughout, because the difference it makes on the end result can be remarkable.

Every choice yields different results, each with their own advantages and drawbacks. That is true for all of life, but in cooking and cricket, watching these small choices play out over extended periods of time, is an exquisite pleasure.

In that sense, what I enjoy in test cricket and cooking is that ability to let time be the defining ingredient.