11.09am was not a time to be caught in the queue buying your first pot of hot chips at the Papatoetoe Recreation Ground yesterday anticipating a vintage Martin Crowe century.
At 15 not out the New Zealand cricket great strode out at 11am to resume his innings for Cornwall's reservegrade team but on the first ball of the day's third over he was trudging back to the Papatoetoe club's new pavilion c M.Walker b A. Kumar having added no further runs.
It was neither Crowe's finest stroke nor 25-year-old Ashwani Kumar's finest ball. Thanks to team mate Michael Walker's safe hands at wide mid-on, Kumar secured one of New Zealand cricket's most prized wickets.
"He was trying to get on the front foot so I tried to bowl a yorker but it ended up as a low full toss which he mistimed," Kumar said.
Kumar said he felt blank as the ball soared into the air. A different mood possessed Walker: "I was just thinking about what would happen in the changing rooms afterwards if I dropped it."
Crowe was not too disappointed: "Good luck to the bowler. It was a nice leveller for me that said, 'Welcome back'."
The 49-year-old looks set to play premier grade next week when Cornwall meet Parnell away.
"From a fitness point of view I'm fine. I was initially taken aback when I wasn't required [at premier level] but I now understand they wanted to see if I could cope with a full day's play. That's history and I'm looking forward to fitting into the [premier] team. If all goes well I might also find I'm okay to play one-day cricket and cement my place further."
