KEY POINTS:
Mark Burgess, the victorious captain, wound down by playing a game of tennis with John Parker; Richard Collinge was on a 5pm flight to Rotorua.
Their teammates had already been booked out of their Wellington hotel - it was hardly a fitting way to mark a historic test triumph over the old enemy, England.
That low-key scenario was what faced the New Zealand team in 1978 when, after 47 failed attempts, they beat England for the first time.
They routed the tourists for a mere 64 in their second innings at the Basin Reserve, to win by 72 runs.
Thirty years on the starting 11 will meet again at the oval in more salubrious circumstances, as guests of honour for the second test between the Black Caps and England from March 13.
Undoubtedly memories of those five glorious days - February 10-15 - will be aired over a few quiets as current captains Daniel Vettori and Michael Vaughan implement their tactics and some unfortunate bowler plugs away into the northerly.
Back then Dayle Hadlee and Bevan Congdon shared the bulk of that onerous task, while as Hadlee wryly noted his younger brother and Collinge were "taking all the glory at the other end".
Richard Hadlee's match analysis read 10 for 100 yet for all the premier fast bowler's success it was Collinge, the accountant who shared the new ball, who tipped the balance sheet in New Zealand's favour.
With England set just 137 for victory, and more than a day to make it, New Zealand needed opener Geoff Boycott to fail, above all others.
The signs were not promising, after all the Yorkshireman compiled a dour, time-consuming 77 (from 302 balls) in the first innings, easily the most significant contributor to England's 215.
"He had such a presence in that first innings," Parker recalled to Sky Sport. "We knew if we could get him early, we were in with a chance."
Collinge, now 61 and living in Sydney, duly delivered despite toiling into the howling northerly. He went on to take 116 test wickets but sportingly agreed he will be best remembered for one ball.
"I've bowled better ones, but never a more important one," he told the Sky Sport magazine.
The wind was actually his ally, holding up the ball and prompting one of cricket's greatest defensive players to prod forward a shade early and basically york himself.
Boycott's demise for just two triggered a collapse that saw the tourists lurch to 18 for four and then 58 for eight by stumps on day four.
Overnight rain ramped up the tension but when play resumed under cloudy skies Richard Hadlee swiftly removed Phil Edmonds and Bob Willis - caught by Geoff Howarth at slip - to complete one of coveted victories in New Zealand's test history.
They had already beaten the West Indies, South Africa, India, Pakistan and Australia, already won in the foreboding arenas of Cape Town, Lahore and Nagpur - but those five days in the capital will always be cherished by the protagonists and fans with lengthening memories.
"It was something of a monkey off our backs," Burgess admitted.
"I'm sure everyone in the side was thinking 'well, we're not as good as the other guys'. That changed in 1978."
Result: New Zealand 228 (J Wright 55, B Congdon 44; C Old 6-54) and 123 (R Anderson 26; B Willis 5-32) beat England 215 (G Boycott 77, G Roope 37; R Hadlee 4-74) and 64 (R Hadlee 6-26) by 72 runs.
New Zealand: John Wright, Robert Anderson, Geoff Howarth, Mark Burgess, Bevan Congdon, John Parker, Warren Lees, Richard Hadlee, Dayle Hadlee, Richard Collinge, Stephen Boock. England: Brian Rose, Geoff Boycott, Geoff Miller, Derek Randell, Graham Roope, Ian Botham, Bob Taylor, Chris Old, Phil Edmonds, Mike Hendrick, Bob Willis.
- NZPA
