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It is tempting to suggest the umpires last night stuffed up what would have been a ripping final day at the Basin Reserve today.
And New Zealand should have been in a cold fury as they wondered if their chance at cricket history had been taken from them by a light meter.
Chasing 438 to win the second test against England - and with it the series - New Zealand will start the final day at 242 for six, and will feel it should have been five. No team has made that many runs in the fourth innings to win a test.
Had they not lost Jacob Oram two balls before the deepening gloom persuaded umpires Steve Davis and Rudi Koetzen to take the players off a second and final time, New Zealand would have begun today with a genuine belief that the game could be won.
Sometimes the eyes can tell you what a meter reading cannot.
England took the second new ball, at a point both Oram and Brendon McCullum were clearly having difficulty picking the old one up in the fading light. The umpires let them take it, and with his fifth ball the excellent Ryan Sidebottom swung it away from Oram to have him caught at fourth slip.
Victory is still a possibility - 196 are needed - but it will fall to Daniel Vettori and McCullum, captain and deputy, to get New Zealand home. Even the most adventurous gambler would be reluctant to reach for his wallet.
It was a fascinating day, once England's innings ended. And for all that there was some desperately ordinary cricket played by both teams.
New Zealand knew that if they batted two days they would win the test. Yet wickets were given away too cheaply and, as if to keep it interesting, England's fielding was wretched, certainly worse than New Zealand's earlier, which was far from flash.
Five catches went down yesterday, ranging from a sharp one to Alastair Cook at gully, to a complete sitter at deep mid off by Kevin Pietersen off Ross Taylor. Wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose badly missed a stumping chance early in Oram's innings and to cap it off, substitute fielder Graeme Swann, with the batsmen standing in their creases, biffed the ball back to the diminutive Ambrose. It flew over his head to the boundary.
But England's bowlers did them proud again, and the selection panel got complete vindication for their call to pick James Anderson and Stuart Broad ahead of ageing warriors Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison.
Anderson took five first innings wickets and yesterday Broad was excellent. He was accurate and regularly gave the batsmen grief. Stephen Fleming's last test innings on his home ground ended bizarrely when he misjudged a Broad delivery, shouldered arms and was bowled. He and Matthew Bell, who fought valiantly despite never being on top of things, battled for two hours before departing in the same over. Sinclair and Taylor put on 81, trying to keep a positive mindset. Both gave chances before Sinclair played an awful shot to his first ball after tea and was caught at cover.
Taylor's second 50 of the match was another solid step forward for the young man in his fourth test.
Oram and McCullum had settled in and put on 69 before Sidebottom struck. It was a cruel blow for New Zealand and those relishing a terrific contest.
* Oram's wallet has been lightened after being found guilty of dissent during the test. He was fined 20 per cent of his match payment - $1200 - after displaying his unhappiness at being given out lbw for 8 in New Zealand's first innings. He looked at his bat, then punched it after the decision by umpire Steve Davis. Match referee, former Indian seamer Javagal Srinath, decided that was sufficient for handing out a fine. Oram pleaded guilty, apologised and as it was his first appearance on a code of conduct charge, his excellent previous record was taken into account when Srinath downgraded the charge from showing serious dissent to showing dissent.
