Half an hour after trudging back to the hutch, Northern Knights opener Brad Wilson still couldn't believe his bad luck after being undone by a piece of magic that will top the highlights reel all summer.
Under pressure to keep his spot at the top of the order after successive failures in Northern's HRV Cup Twenty20 losses to Canterbury and Wellington at Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval, Wilson had looked rock solid in easing through to 43 off 41 balls before the Central Stags struck with a moment of individual athleticism.
Facing legspinner Tarun Nethula in the 12th over, Wilson's lofted drive down the ground looked headed for the boundary.
What he didn't bank on was Stags substitute fielder Bevan Small launching at the ball, catching it horizontally over the boundary and palming it back into the field of play to an incredulous Michael Mason, who had to make a sprawling catch himself.
Wilson stuck around waiting for the official verdict but never doubted Small's brilliant reactions were legitimate.
"To the naked eye it looked out from where I was standing but it's worth hanging around because the eye's not as good as TV," said the Northlander, who captains the Knights in Plunket Shield.
"My gut feeling was that I'd got enough bat on it to carry the boundary rope but it was a special bit of fielding there in the end. Another day I might have got six for it."
The Knights' A game emerged with the sunshine as they ran down Stags' flaccid 128-8 with ease, lifting themselves back into the competition.
After a horrible time of it at Mount Maunganui over the past week, battling their own malaise as well as the elements, the Knights got it right in front of 3500 holidaymakers, cruising to an eight-wicket win with 25 balls to spare.
Apart from Jamie How (26) and Mathew Sinclair (27), who combined to put on 46 for the second wicket, and a breezy 35-run cameo late in the innings from Doug Bracewell, the Stags failed to get any purchase from their middle order as ND finally got it right in the field, with international seamer Tim Southee taking a superb 3-16 from his four overs with prodigious late swing.
Also impressive were offspinner Kane Williamson, who got through his four overs for just 14 runs, while left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori took two for 24 off four as well as running out How with a direct hit.
Wilson came into the game averaging 23 from five innings, but with just six and 16 to show from his last two turns at bat at the Bay Oval in rain-affected losses, and was particularly punishing with several sparkling straight drives to the boundary.
"It was a big game for us, a must-win, so to put in a performance, and to help with some runs as well, was twice as sweet," he said. "I didn't put any undue pressure on myself but I think you're always under a bit of pressure because some days it happens and some days it doesn't."
The result ends a string of four successive defeats, lifting the Knights off the foot of the table, with their next game back at Mount Maunganui against the Auckland Aces on Sunday.