KEY POINTS:
If you had suggested 10 years ago that we'd have a packed summer of five cricket tests - a surprise in itself - and none of the tests would be played at Auckland or Christchurch, nobody would have believed you.
But it's true... and it's about time. A victory too, for Paul Ford and Sam Buckle, whose heartfelt treatise on the state of New Zealand's cricket grounds made the hallowed pages of Wisden last year.
"The major grounds, like Auckland or Christchurch, are built for rugby, and there is a rugby heart beating at those stadiums," they wrote. "Cricket is wedged in like a size 16 lady into a size 8 dress. The stadiums are bizarrely configured; there is nowhere comfy to sit; the food and drink facilities are appalling; and there's nothing for the kids.
"The Basin Reserve in Wellington and Seddon Park in Hamilton are dedicated cricket grounds, with embankments and a bit of charm, and these are the two places where test cricket should be nurtured.
"The grounds are unwelcoming too: a legacy of ridiculous rules has turned people away. Overbearing security and ludicrous restrictions have put people off."
Quite right. If this is Justin Vaughan's first big call, then he's got it on the button.
These are confusing times to be a rugby fan in this fair country of ours.
Critics of the reconditioning programme were put in their place a fortnight ago when the All Blacks came from behind to beat the Springboks in Durban.
(All Henry acolytes rejoice!)
A week later 'fatigue' and 'gruelling travel schedule' were listed as reasons the All Blacks performed a collapse at the MCG their Black Capped brethren would struggle to emulate.
(Henry haters, sharpen those blades!)
Like the foie gras goose that is locked in the dark and force-fed corn mash until its liver is ready to burst, the New Zealand rugby public has been kept in the dark and force fed reconditioning propaganda until its brain emulsified.
But from what this plumped-up grey-matter can remember, wasn't the reconditioning programme meant to reap its rewards only by the time of the World Cup?
So surely, for the All Blacks to push past South Africa due to the virtues of R&R, it shows only how badly management mistimed their vaunted programme.
Or perhaps - shock, horror - the R&R had precious little to do with the Durban success?
The news this week that Alberto Salazar, the former champion United States marathoner, had a heart attack will provide more ammunition to those who believe his finest hour was also his greatest folly.
Salazar won the New York Marathon three times from 1980 to 1982 but is best remembered for his duel with fellow American Dick Beardsley in the 1982 Boston Marathon, 25 years ago in April.
Captured in epic form in John Brant's Duel in the Sun, hot favourite Salazar won by just two seconds in a scorching 2:08.52, a red-hot time to match the weather.
Little-fancied Beardsley stayed in Salazar's pocket for the entire race until near the end, when he fell in a pot-hole. Miraculously, the hyper-extension loosened up Beardsley's previously tight hamstring and he once more caught Salazar.
The race effectively destroyed both their athletic careers. Salazar had barely taken a sip of water the entire race and was placed on an intravenous drip afterwards and had six litres of water pumped into him.
Beardsley would later suffer a serious accident and became addicted to prescription drugs. Salazar fell into an over-training trap as he tried to recapture his magic but finished a gruesome 15th at the 1984 Olympic Marathon and eventually faded away from competitive athletics.
April 19, 1982 will always be their day, though.
