Peter Fulton was yesterday left ruing his indecision and New Zealand lamenting a botched second innings.
Yasir Arafat is a prototype for the modern cricketer.
The Black Caps seam attack will be rolling back the years when it takes the park for the first test against Pakistan in Dunedin next week.
Peter Fulton was as surprised as anyone when he got the call from national selector Mark Greatbatch.
Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori is wary of the Pakistan line-up but believes the touring side does not have the experience of some of its predecessors.
Otago captain Craig Cumming is convinced the path back into the national side has been blocked because the selectors consider him over the hill.
Otago and White Ferns all-rounder Sarah Tsukigawa led the Sparks to a six-wicket win against Northern Districts in a one-day match in Whangarei yesterday.
Green Island stalwart Jeremy Scott smashed a six to help keep his side's national club championship prospects alive with a two-wicket win over Carisbrook-Dunedin in the Otago semifinal at Tonga Park yesterday.
Alison Shanks yesterday received the bad news she had been expecting.
Otago Sparks back-up wicketkeeper Kylie Crowley has been given a big challenge this season.
Two seasons ago, a fit James McMillan would have been rushed back into the Otago side.
North Otago will be without the services of promising batsman Sean Eathorne for its Hawke Cup game against Otago Country at Molyneux Park this weekend.
Neil Broom's wonderful form shows no sign of abating with the punishing middle order batsman's latest effort helping Otago dispatch Wellington by six wickets in a rain-affected one-day match at the Queenstown Events Centre yesterday.
It is not a starting five but it is a start. The Otago Nuggets roster is starting to take shape with the franchise announcing five signings yesterday.
Otago will go into its opening one-day match light on experience but with plenty of confidence, captain Craig Cumming says.
Quiet relief swept through the Otago camp yesterday when Shaun Haig hit the winning runs to seal the Volts' first four-day victory in more than a year and a-half.
Experienced middle-order batsman Greg Todd has missed selection for Otago's opening one-day match against Wellington at the Queenstown Events Centre tomorrow.
Wellington middle-order batsman Stewart Rhodes wrote himself into the record books with an unbeaten hundred on debut.
Wellington stonewalled its way into a position of strength while Otago was left ruing missed opportunities at the Queenstown Events Centre yesterday.
New Otago Sparks coach Nathan King plans to put more onus on the players this summer.