Flight EK406 from Colombo landed a few minutes earlier than the scheduled 1.45pm arrival time yesterday at Auckland international airport but, almost two hours later, no sign of Sri Lanka cricketer Mahela Jayawardene.
What could have possibly gone wrong, as a 4.15pm domestic flight to Nelson was running perilously close for Jayawardene?
Maybe the masterful batsman got into a spot of bother with some mud still caught between the spikes of his cricket shoes and was going through the spin-dry process of the Customs and Immigration Department.
A shade before 4pm NZ Cricket media man Richard Boock, patiently and dutifully waiting to hook up scribes for phone interviews, discovered the 38-year-old never boarded flight EK406 for his much-anticipated debut for the Central Districts Stags T20 game against Wellington Firebirds today at Saxton Oval.
So went wrong?