I must admit Notes From Slip thought if that throw had beaten Kane Williamson to the non-striker’s end on Monday, then the first test against Sri Lanka would have been a tie.
But my colleague Hayden Meikle, better known for his shameless promotion of the virtues of Oamaru, pointed out what an utter dunce I’d been.
He had a strong memory of the match between Zimbabwe and England in Bulawayo in 1996 which finished with the scores level but the match drawn.
England was "boldly chasing 205 for victory in 37 overs", read The Guardian report, but "finished deeply frustrated on 204 for five".
For the game to be tied, the chasing team has to be bowled out with the scores level. If they still have wickets remaining but the game is over, the match is a draw.
I’m just a little shocked England did not go for a boundary countback, to be honest.
Test cricket has deep problems despite the Black Caps’ last two incredible games.
In New Zealand, the decision by the national body to sign over the home broadcasting rights to Spark fractured the audience.
New Zealand Cricket has steadfastly refused to say how many people were watching the games on the streaming service, but we can assume it was not many because Spark announced late last year it would exit the deal as of July.
TVNZ has agreed to broadcast the home internationals and the Super Smash fixtures for the next three years.
They have a big job of rebuilding the audience, which anecdotal evidence suggests has shrunk.
It is a great shame more people were not able to see those last two tests, because they were some of the best matches in the history of the game.
Had I been a 10-year-old watching that, I’d be out in the backyard pretending to be Kane Williamson or Neil Wagner right now.
Actually, I might do that anyway.
Congratulations to North East Valley.
The Swans have an unassailable lead in the Bing Harris regardless of the result in their final round robin game against Green Island at Sunnyvale tomorrow.
Green Island tipped them up in the T20 final, though, so there will be some determination to finish well.
They also have a one-day final to look forward to against either Taieri or the resurgent University-Grange.
Those two teams meet at Brooklands tomorrow in a virtual semifinal.
If you’ve read the love-fest on Neil Wagner in today’s paper then you might have noticed we skipped the part where he left Otago to play for Northern Districts. It is still very raw.
adrian.seconi@odt.co.nz
