The Ashes start on Friday, the first balls will be struck at Queen’s this weekend, and more than a few people will be murmuring a quiet Hallelujah.
It has taken until the middle of June, and almost the longest day of the year, but the eternal drumroll of domestic football is fading and summer sport can finally begin in earnest.
Gareth Southgate’s England are playing in Gozo, or Malta or somewhere, in the European qualifiers later this week, but most people’s gaze will be averted to the greatest Test series of them all.