The Black Sticks are hoping to make a splash at this week's prestigious Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Auckland but they were saved from making one of a different kind when the second day's play was called off because of a water-logged pitch.
All four games of the top-eight tournament were postponed and will now be played tomorrow, which was originally set aside as a rest day.
It changes little for the New Zealand team, who must still beat Korea tomorrow and the Netherlands on Tuesday to claim a spot in the semifinals, but dampened things even more for a sellout crowd of 3500 and even bigger television audience hoping to see world-class hockey.
Steady rain began falling in Auckland early in the day and left the main pitch waterlogged and unplayable. The Black Sticks had just finished their pre-game lunch at the team's Ellerslie hotel when they were told of the decision.
"It's not a surprise [the games were called off] but something a bit different," Blacks Sticks goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex said. "You get it a fair bit in Malaysia with the rains that kick in every afternoon. You expect it there... not here.