Sport has the capacity at times to produce as much drama, pathos and varied sub-plots as the greatest of Shakespeare's plays.
Yesterday morning at the Basin Reserve in Wellington was one such occasion, as Brendon McCullum made 302 against India to become the first New Zealander to score a testmatch triple century and the 24th player in history.
The remarkably large Tuesday crowd lived every ball played by the clearly fatigued McCullum and young debutant James Neesham. There was a collective groan around the ground when McCullum edged a ball just short of Indian captain MS Dhoni on 293, but after Neesham scored his maiden century, pure elation broke out after two imperious strokes to the boundary saw McCullum reach the milestone.
McCullum had almost single-handedly defied the world's No2 ranked team with an astonishing display of mental fortitude and physical courage, toiling on ball after ball despite debilitating knee and back pain.
He set New Zealand batting records that may stand the test of time and in the process played the ultimate captain's innings to guide his team to a rare test series win over India.
His unforgettable knock surpassed Martin Crowe's 299 against Sri Lanka in the 1990-91 season and took McCullum 774 minutes to become the longest test innings played by a New Zealander, going past Glenn Turner's 704-minute epic against West Indies in 1971-72.
McCullum faced 559 deliveries in his marathon innings, the most deliveries faced by any international batsman in tests in New Zealand, and he became just the second batsman to score a triple century in the second innings after Pakistan's Hanif Mohammad back in 1957-58. Only Walter Hammond and Don Bradman have scored a double century and triple century back-to-back in a series.
But perhaps the record the ultimate team man McCullum will cherish the most is the world record sixth-wicket partnership of 352 he set with BJ Watling on Monday.
What McCullum has achieved is not just an unforgettable milestone for New Zealand cricket but a special moment in our collective sporting consciousness.
Take a bow Brendon McCullum - you have made us all proud.
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