diff --git a/batch_test.go b/batch_test.go
index 490ae796d..f5c40dde8 100644
--- a/batch_test.go
+++ b/batch_test.go
@@ -6,10 +6,12 @@ package gocql
 import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/gocql/gocql/internal/testcmdline"
 )
 
 func TestBatch_Errors(t *testing.T) {
-	if *flagProto == 1 {
+	if *testcmdline.Proto == 1 {
 	}
 
 	session := createSession(t)
diff --git a/cassandra_only_test.go b/cassandra_only_test.go
index fd02d01b0..383326d6f 100644
--- a/cassandra_only_test.go
+++ b/cassandra_only_test.go
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/gocql/gocql/internal/testcmdline"
 )
 
 func TestDiscoverViaProxy(t *testing.T) {
@@ -204,8 +206,8 @@ func TestGetKeyspaceMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Error converting string to int with err: %v", err)
 	}
-	if rfInt != *flagRF {
-		t.Errorf("Expected replication factor to be %d but was %d", *flagRF, rfInt)
+	if rfInt != *testcmdline.RF {
+		t.Errorf("Expected replication factor to be %d but was %d", *testcmdline.RF, rfInt)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -431,7 +433,7 @@ func TestViewMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	textType := TypeText
-	if flagCassVersion.Before(3, 0, 0) {
+	if testcmdline.CassVersion.Before(3, 0, 0) {
 		textType = TypeVarchar
 	}
 
@@ -453,7 +455,7 @@ func TestViewMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestMaterializedViewMetadata(t *testing.T) {
-	if flagCassVersion.Before(3, 0, 0) {
+	if testcmdline.CassVersion.Before(3, 0, 0) {
 		return
 	}
 	session := createSession(t)
@@ -552,7 +554,7 @@ func TestAggregateMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// In this case cassandra is returning a blob
-	if flagCassVersion.Before(3, 0, 0) {
+	if testcmdline.CassVersion.Before(3, 0, 0) {
 		expectedAggregrate.InitCond = string([]byte{0, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 8, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0})
 	}
 
@@ -736,7 +738,7 @@ func TestKeyspaceMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal("failed to find the types in metadata")
 	}
 	textType := TypeText
-	if flagCassVersion.Before(3, 0, 0) {
+	if testcmdline.CassVersion.Before(3, 0, 0) {
 		textType = TypeVarchar
 	}
 	expectedType := UserTypeMetadata{
@@ -753,7 +755,7 @@ func TestKeyspaceMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 	if !reflect.DeepEqual(*keyspaceMetadata.UserTypes["basicview"], expectedType) {
 		t.Fatalf("type is %+v, but expected %+v", keyspaceMetadata.UserTypes["basicview"], expectedType)
 	}
-	if flagCassVersion.Major >= 3 {
+	if testcmdline.CassVersion.Major >= 3 {
 		materializedView, found := keyspaceMetadata.MaterializedViews["view_view"]
 		if !found {
 			t.Fatal("failed to find materialized view view_view in metadata")
diff --git a/cassandra_test.go b/cassandra_test.go
index f7539ded4..fa599ff95 100644
--- a/cassandra_test.go
+++ b/cassandra_test.go
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ import (
 	"unicode"
 
 	inf "gopkg.in/inf.v0"
+
+	"github.com/gocql/gocql/internal/testcmdline"
 )
 
 func TestEmptyHosts(t *testing.T) {
@@ -2126,8 +2128,8 @@ func TestGetKeyspaceMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Error converting string to int with err: %v", err)
 	}
-	if rfInt != *flagRF {
-		t.Errorf("Expected replication factor to be %d but was %d", *flagRF, rfInt)
+	if rfInt != *testcmdline.RF {
+		t.Errorf("Expected replication factor to be %d but was %d", *testcmdline.RF, rfInt)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -2494,8 +2496,8 @@ func TestUnmarshallNestedTypes(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestSchemaReset(t *testing.T) {
-	if flagCassVersion.Major == 0 || flagCassVersion.Before(2, 1, 3) {
-		t.Skipf("skipping TestSchemaReset due to CASSANDRA-7910 in Cassandra <2.1.3 version=%v", flagCassVersion)
+	if testcmdline.CassVersion.Major == 0 || testcmdline.CassVersion.Before(2, 1, 3) {
+		t.Skipf("skipping TestSchemaReset due to CASSANDRA-7910 in Cassandra <2.1.3 version=%v", testcmdline.CassVersion)
 	}
 
 	cluster := createCluster()
@@ -2560,7 +2562,7 @@ func TestCreateSession_DontSwallowError(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal("expected to get an error for unsupported protocol")
 	}
 
-	if flagCassVersion.Major < 3 {
+	if testcmdline.CassVersion.Major < 3 {
 		// TODO: we should get a distinct error type here which include the underlying
 		// cassandra error about the protocol version, for now check this here.
 		if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "Invalid or unsupported protocol version") {
diff --git a/cloud_cluster_test.go b/cloud_cluster_test.go
index 4133ac56e..ec67af949 100644
--- a/cloud_cluster_test.go
+++ b/cloud_cluster_test.go
@@ -16,13 +16,15 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
+	"sigs.k8s.io/yaml"
+
 	"github.com/gocql/gocql"
+	"github.com/gocql/gocql/internal/testcmdline"
 	"github.com/gocql/gocql/scyllacloud"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/yaml"
 )
 
 func TestCloudConnection(t *testing.T) {
-	if !*gocql.FlagRunSslTest {
+	if !*testcmdline.RunSslTest {
 		t.Skip("Skipping because SSL is not enabled on cluster")
 	}
 
diff --git a/common_test.go b/common_test.go
index abbe91cce..462fb2b6d 100644
--- a/common_test.go
+++ b/common_test.go
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package gocql
 
 import (
-	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
 	"net"
@@ -10,41 +9,24 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
-)
 
-var (
-	flagCluster          = flag.String("cluster", "127.0.0.1", "a comma-separated list of host:port tuples")
-	flagMultiNodeCluster = flag.String("multiCluster", "127.0.0.2", "a comma-separated list of host:port tuples")
-	flagProto            = flag.Int("proto", 0, "protcol version")
-	flagCQL              = flag.String("cql", "3.0.0", "CQL version")
-	flagRF               = flag.Int("rf", 1, "replication factor for test keyspace")
-	clusterSize          = flag.Int("clusterSize", 1, "the expected size of the cluster")
-	flagRetry            = flag.Int("retries", 5, "number of times to retry queries")
-	flagAutoWait         = flag.Duration("autowait", 1000*time.Millisecond, "time to wait for autodiscovery to fill the hosts poll")
-	flagRunSslTest       = flag.Bool("runssl", false, "Set to true to run ssl test")
-	flagRunAuthTest      = flag.Bool("runauth", false, "Set to true to run authentication test")
-	flagCompressTest     = flag.String("compressor", "", "compressor to use")
-	flagTimeout          = flag.Duration("gocql.timeout", 5*time.Second, "sets the connection `timeout` for all operations")
-
-	flagCassVersion cassVersion
+	"github.com/gocql/gocql/internal/testcmdline"
 )
 
 func init() {
-	flag.Var(&flagCassVersion, "gocql.cversion", "the cassandra version being tested against")
-
 	log.SetFlags(log.Lshortfile | log.LstdFlags)
 }
 
 func getClusterHosts() []string {
-	return strings.Split(*flagCluster, ",")
+	return strings.Split(*testcmdline.Cluster, ",")
 }
 
 func getMultiNodeClusterHosts() []string {
-	return strings.Split(*flagMultiNodeCluster, ",")
+	return strings.Split(*testcmdline.MultiNodeCluster, ",")
 }
 
 func addSslOptions(cluster *ClusterConfig) *ClusterConfig {
-	if *flagRunSslTest {
+	if *testcmdline.RunSslTest {
 		cluster.Port = 9142
 		cluster.SslOpts = &SslOptions{
 			CertPath:               "testdata/pki/gocql.crt",
@@ -81,21 +63,21 @@ func createTable(s *Session, table string) error {
 func createCluster(opts ...func(*ClusterConfig)) *ClusterConfig {
 	clusterHosts := getClusterHosts()
 	cluster := NewCluster(clusterHosts...)
-	cluster.ProtoVersion = *flagProto
-	cluster.CQLVersion = *flagCQL
-	cluster.Timeout = *flagTimeout
+	cluster.ProtoVersion = *testcmdline.Proto
+	cluster.CQLVersion = *testcmdline.CQL
+	cluster.Timeout = *testcmdline.Timeout
 	cluster.Consistency = Quorum
 	cluster.MaxWaitSchemaAgreement = 2 * time.Minute // travis might be slow
-	if *flagRetry > 0 {
-		cluster.RetryPolicy = &SimpleRetryPolicy{NumRetries: *flagRetry}
+	if *testcmdline.Retry > 0 {
+		cluster.RetryPolicy = &SimpleRetryPolicy{NumRetries: *testcmdline.Retry}
 	}
 
-	switch *flagCompressTest {
+	switch *testcmdline.CompressTest {
 	case "snappy":
 		cluster.Compressor = &SnappyCompressor{}
 	case "":
 	default:
-		panic("invalid compressor: " + *flagCompressTest)
+		panic("invalid compressor: " + *testcmdline.CompressTest)
 	}
 
 	cluster = addSslOptions(cluster)
@@ -110,21 +92,21 @@ func createCluster(opts ...func(*ClusterConfig)) *ClusterConfig {
 func createMultiNodeCluster(opts ...func(*ClusterConfig)) *ClusterConfig {
 	clusterHosts := getMultiNodeClusterHosts()
 	cluster := NewCluster(clusterHosts...)
-	cluster.ProtoVersion = *flagProto
-	cluster.CQLVersion = *flagCQL
-	cluster.Timeout = *flagTimeout
+	cluster.ProtoVersion = *testcmdline.Proto
+	cluster.CQLVersion = *testcmdline.CQL
+	cluster.Timeout = *testcmdline.Timeout
 	cluster.Consistency = Quorum
 	cluster.MaxWaitSchemaAgreement = 2 * time.Minute // travis might be slow
-	if *flagRetry > 0 {
-		cluster.RetryPolicy = &SimpleRetryPolicy{NumRetries: *flagRetry}
+	if *testcmdline.Retry > 0 {
+		cluster.RetryPolicy = &SimpleRetryPolicy{NumRetries: *testcmdline.Retry}
 	}
 
-	switch *flagCompressTest {
+	switch *testcmdline.CompressTest {
 	case "snappy":
 		cluster.Compressor = &SnappyCompressor{}
 	case "":
 	default:
-		panic("invalid compressor: " + *flagCompressTest)
+		panic("invalid compressor: " + *testcmdline.CompressTest)
 	}
 
 	cluster = addSslOptions(cluster)
@@ -156,7 +138,7 @@ func createKeyspace(tb testing.TB, cluster *ClusterConfig, keyspace string) {
 	WITH replication = {
 		'class' : 'SimpleStrategy',
 		'replication_factor' : %d
-	}`, keyspace, *flagRF))
+	}`, keyspace, *testcmdline.RF))
 
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(fmt.Sprintf("unable to create keyspace: %v", err))
@@ -232,7 +214,7 @@ func createViews(t *testing.T, session *Session) {
 }
 
 func createMaterializedViews(t *testing.T, session *Session) {
-	if flagCassVersion.Before(3, 0, 0) {
+	if testcmdline.CassVersion.Before(3, 0, 0) {
 		return
 	}
 	if err := session.Query(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS gocql_test.view_table (
diff --git a/export_test.go b/export_test.go
index 830436303..3295697db 100644
--- a/export_test.go
+++ b/export_test.go
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 
 package gocql
 
-var FlagRunSslTest = flagRunSslTest
 var CreateCluster = createCluster
 var TestLogger = &testLogger{}
 var WaitUntilPoolsStopFilling = waitUntilPoolsStopFilling
diff --git a/integration_test.go b/integration_test.go
index f548a829f..11f22c445 100644
--- a/integration_test.go
+++ b/integration_test.go
@@ -9,16 +9,18 @@ import (
 	"reflect"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/gocql/gocql/internal/testcmdline"
 )
 
 // TestAuthentication verifies that gocql will work with a host configured to only accept authenticated connections
 func TestAuthentication(t *testing.T) {
 
-	if *flagProto < 2 {
+	if *testcmdline.Proto < 2 {
 		t.Skip("Authentication is not supported with protocol < 2")
 	}
 
-	if !*flagRunAuthTest {
+	if !*testcmdline.RunAuthTest {
 		t.Skip("Authentication is not configured in the target cluster")
 	}
 
@@ -60,21 +62,21 @@ func TestRingDiscovery(t *testing.T) {
 	session := createSessionFromCluster(cluster, t)
 	defer session.Close()
 
-	if *clusterSize > 1 {
+	if *testcmdline.ClusterSize > 1 {
 		// wait for autodiscovery to update the pool with the list of known hosts
-		time.Sleep(*flagAutoWait)
+		time.Sleep(*testcmdline.AutoWait)
 	}
 
 	session.pool.mu.RLock()
 	defer session.pool.mu.RUnlock()
 	size := len(session.pool.hostConnPools)
 
-	if *clusterSize != size {
+	if *testcmdline.ClusterSize != size {
 		for p, pool := range session.pool.hostConnPools {
 			t.Logf("p=%q host=%v ips=%s", p, pool.host, pool.host.ConnectAddress().String())
 
 		}
-		t.Errorf("Expected a cluster size of %d, but actual size was %d", *clusterSize, size)
+		t.Errorf("Expected a cluster size of %d, but actual size was %d", *testcmdline.ClusterSize, size)
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/testutils/flags.go b/internal/testcmdline/flags.go
similarity index 53%
rename from internal/testutils/flags.go
rename to internal/testcmdline/flags.go
index ce19c3080..938c346f5 100644
--- a/internal/testutils/flags.go
+++ b/internal/testcmdline/flags.go
@@ -1,31 +1,27 @@
-package testutils
+package testcmdline
 
 import (
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
-	"log"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
-
-	"github.com/gocql/gocql"
 )
 
 var (
-	flagCluster          = flag.String("cluster", "127.0.0.1", "a comma-separated list of host:port tuples")
-	flagMultiNodeCluster = flag.String("multiCluster", "127.0.0.2", "a comma-separated list of host:port tuples")
-	flagProto            = flag.Int("proto", 0, "protcol version")
-	flagCQL              = flag.String("cql", "3.0.0", "CQL version")
-	flagRF               = flag.Int("rf", 1, "replication factor for test keyspace")
-	clusterSize          = flag.Int("clusterSize", 1, "the expected size of the cluster")
-	flagRetry            = flag.Int("retries", 5, "number of times to retry queries")
-	flagAutoWait         = flag.Duration("autowait", 1000*time.Millisecond, "time to wait for autodiscovery to fill the hosts poll")
-	flagRunSslTest       = flag.Bool("runssl", false, "Set to true to run ssl test")
-	flagRunAuthTest      = flag.Bool("runauth", false, "Set to true to run authentication test")
-	flagCompressTest     = flag.String("compressor", "", "compressor to use")
-	flagTimeout          = flag.Duration("gocql.timeout", 5*time.Second, "sets the connection `timeout` for all operations")
-
-	flagCassVersion cassVersion
+	Cluster          = flag.String("cluster", "127.0.0.1", "a comma-separated list of host:port tuples")
+	MultiNodeCluster = flag.String("multiCluster", "127.0.0.2", "a comma-separated list of host:port tuples")
+	Proto            = flag.Int("proto", 0, "protcol version")
+	CQL              = flag.String("cql", "3.0.0", "CQL version")
+	RF               = flag.Int("rf", 1, "replication factor for test keyspace")
+	ClusterSize      = flag.Int("clusterSize", 1, "the expected size of the cluster")
+	Retry            = flag.Int("retries", 5, "number of times to retry queries")
+	AutoWait         = flag.Duration("autowait", 1000*time.Millisecond, "time to wait for autodiscovery to fill the hosts poll")
+	RunSslTest       = flag.Bool("runssl", false, "Set to true to run ssl test")
+	RunAuthTest      = flag.Bool("runauth", false, "Set to true to run authentication test")
+	CompressTest     = flag.String("compressor", "", "compressor to use")
+	Timeout          = flag.Duration("gocql.timeout", 5*time.Second, "sets the connection `timeout` for all operations")
+	CassVersion      cassVersion
 )
 
 type cassVersion struct {
@@ -37,11 +33,7 @@ func (c *cassVersion) Set(v string) error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	return c.UnmarshalCQL(nil, []byte(v))
-}
-
-func (c *cassVersion) UnmarshalCQL(info gocql.TypeInfo, data []byte) error {
-	return c.unmarshal(data)
+	return c.unmarshal([]byte(v))
 }
 
 func (c *cassVersion) unmarshal(data []byte) error {
@@ -108,7 +100,5 @@ func (c cassVersion) nodeUpDelay() time.Duration {
 }
 
 func init() {
-	flag.Var(&flagCassVersion, "gocql.cversion", "the cassandra version being tested against")
-
-	log.SetFlags(log.Lshortfile | log.LstdFlags)
+	flag.Var(&CassVersion, "gocql.cversion", "the cassandra version being tested against")
 }
diff --git a/internal/testutils/cluster.go b/internal/testutils/cluster.go
index 431614be4..fb81715f4 100644
--- a/internal/testutils/cluster.go
+++ b/internal/testutils/cluster.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/gocql/gocql"
+	"github.com/gocql/gocql/internal/testcmdline"
 )
 
 var initOnce sync.Once
@@ -22,21 +23,21 @@ func CreateSession(tb testing.TB, opts ...func(config *gocql.ClusterConfig)) *go
 func CreateCluster(opts ...func(*gocql.ClusterConfig)) *gocql.ClusterConfig {
 	clusterHosts := getClusterHosts()
 	cluster := gocql.NewCluster(clusterHosts...)
-	cluster.ProtoVersion = *flagProto
-	cluster.CQLVersion = *flagCQL
-	cluster.Timeout = *flagTimeout
+	cluster.ProtoVersion = *testcmdline.Proto
+	cluster.CQLVersion = *testcmdline.CQL
+	cluster.Timeout = *testcmdline.Timeout
 	cluster.Consistency = gocql.Quorum
 	cluster.MaxWaitSchemaAgreement = 2 * time.Minute // travis might be slow
-	if *flagRetry > 0 {
-		cluster.RetryPolicy = &gocql.SimpleRetryPolicy{NumRetries: *flagRetry}
+	if *testcmdline.Retry > 0 {
+		cluster.RetryPolicy = &gocql.SimpleRetryPolicy{NumRetries: *testcmdline.Retry}
 	}
 
-	switch *flagCompressTest {
+	switch *testcmdline.CompressTest {
 	case "snappy":
 		cluster.Compressor = &gocql.SnappyCompressor{}
 	case "":
 	default:
-		panic("invalid compressor: " + *flagCompressTest)
+		panic("invalid compressor: " + *testcmdline.CompressTest)
 	}
 
 	cluster = addSslOptions(cluster)
@@ -69,7 +70,7 @@ func createSessionFromCluster(cluster *gocql.ClusterConfig, tb testing.TB) *gocq
 }
 
 func getClusterHosts() []string {
-	return strings.Split(*flagCluster, ",")
+	return strings.Split(*testcmdline.Cluster, ",")
 }
 
 func createKeyspace(tb testing.TB, cluster *gocql.ClusterConfig, keyspace string) {
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ func createKeyspace(tb testing.TB, cluster *gocql.ClusterConfig, keyspace string
 	WITH replication = {
 		'class' : 'SimpleStrategy',
 		'replication_factor' : %d
-	}`, keyspace, *flagRF))
+	}`, keyspace, *testcmdline.RF))
 
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(fmt.Sprintf("unable to create keyspace: %v", err))
@@ -120,7 +121,7 @@ func CreateTable(s *gocql.Session, table string) error {
 }
 
 func addSslOptions(cluster *gocql.ClusterConfig) *gocql.ClusterConfig {
-	if *flagRunSslTest {
+	if *testcmdline.RunSslTest {
 		cluster.Port = 9142
 		cluster.SslOpts = &gocql.SslOptions{
 			CertPath:               "testdata/pki/gocql.crt",