Batting legend Martin Crowe was inducted into cricket's Hall of Fame during a moving ceremony yesterday at the Black Caps epic battle in the Cricket World Cup.
The 52-year-old Aucklander received a standing ovation in front of a full house at Eden Park, a ground he made his own during the Cricket World Cup of 1992.
Crowe becomes the third New Zealander to gain a place in the Hall, alongside Sir Richard Hadlee and Debbie Hockley. He is, he noted with a chuckle, the first North Islander.
Just for a moment it must have felt like somebody had hit the rewind button as the crowd rose to acknowledge not just one of the greats of cricket, but also one of New Zealand's sporting giants.
Crowe, who is suffering from double-hit lymphona, a terminal cancer, was clearly moved, thanking his late father Dave and mother Audrey for their "unbending devotion" to family and cricket.
"To Brendon McCullum and the boys, we love you and dare to believe. Together we can do it."
With that he left the park to another sustained and heartfelt round of applause. He may have even wiped away a tear. Crowe seemed a little embarrassed by the attention.
He needn't have been.
For more coverage of the Cricket World Cup from nzherald.co.nz and NZME check out #CricketFever.