Nothing weakens resolve like common sense.
Pity it prevailed about two years too late.
New Zealand Cricket could have avoided a lot of heartache and appointed John Wright as coach of the national side when John Bracewell stepped down from the role.
It would have made a lot of sense.
Wright was fresh from a successful five-year stint with India and was easily the best qualified candidate.
Instead, the national body opted for relatively unknown Northern Districts coach Andy Moles and then overlooked Wright when Moles was pushed out by the players in October last year.
Mark Greatbatch assumed the mantle of coach in January, although officially his position was that of batting coach.
It was the captain Daniel Vettori who appeared to be the man punching the bus tickets.
NZC's reluctance to appoint Wright appeared to stem from some perceived inadequacies regarding his organisation and communication skills.
His methods, rather than his personality, were not popular.
And the players seemed content with a coach in name only, not a coach who might offer the odd opinion.
There was also a school of thought that Wright's skills were best utilised identifying talent and as a high performance coach.
But those concerns must have dissolved with the groundswell of public opinion.
As hesitant as NZC has been, it backflipped like a trained seal, just as it has done with countless selections over the years.
The quirky opening batsman New Zealand warmed to when he was forging an opening partnership with Bruce Edgar - which is still talked about in reverent tones - and his methods are back in favour.
The man who once glued his batting gloves to his bat will take charge of a team which has slumped to 11 consecutive one-day losses, and just a few months before the World Cup.
In cricket parlance that is called a bouncer.
There is a touch of irony that he takes over just after the Black Caps have returned from a tour of India.
Wright's knowledge of India and Indian cricket would have been invaluable on that tour.
During his Indian stint, Wright led his side to an historic series win over Australia in India and also guided his team to the finals of the 2003 World Cup.
He had two years to prepare for the 2003 tournament and a star-studded Indian team to work with.
He has 60 days - and a shallow talent pool - to prepare for the 2010 version.
As far as forward planning goes, NZC has not set the bar very high.
It is more of a knee-jerk reaction and has probably done far more to unsettle the camp than it has to instil some much-needed confidence.
The decision to remove Vettori as a selector is more of a PR exercise than any actual clipping of his wings.
Vettori will continue to "contribute to the selection process and will be actively responsible for team selections on tour".
Hardly a demotion.
Greatbatch and Glenn Turner retain their roles on the selection panel and will be joined by Lance Cairns.
The changes, NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said, come as part of a wide-ranging review into the side's recent poor performances.
Wright will assume his new role immediately, and not before time.
