Whether it was in defeat or simply through non-selection, even of someone as adept as Joshua Clarkson or Ajaz Patel, the parties affected didn't spit the dummy.
At one stage, when the chips were down, the William Young-captained CD side looked dead and buried in the domestic one-day format.
But they didn't baulk. Instead, the Stags showed class and drew on pride to display character to suggest that if teams adhere to a philosophy of simplicity winning will take care of itself.
Statements such as "when we're hot, we're hot" come with a garment tag of washing instructions and should be treated in that vein, as exuberance not as arrogance.
In the final round eight of pool play on Wednesday, CD trounced the Auckland Aces at Pukekura Park by seven wickets - just as they had done to the Knights in the previous round by a record-breaking margin of 227 runs at the same compact venue.
Magical team and individual milestones were realised but the collective remained focused on the bigger picture of attaining a respectable gross domestic product.
If ever the mind wandered - and it's easy to do that in a game that demands endless hours of fielding and bowling or waiting for a turn to bat - preacher Malan was at his thumping best at the pulpit to sharply realign the thought processes.
"We've spoken about that in the twenty20 as well that we have to start from zero again even though we've played nicely in the past couple of games and that gives us some momentum."
Starting with smaller processes and setting themselves up from a batting perspective or finding some sequence in the bowling order, all add to the bigger picture.
"Throughout the campaign we haven't had that consistency in all departments so it's good to see that towards the back end in the playoffs," says Malan, appreciating pressure will bring out the best in the players.
After one cameo appearance, which yielded a run on Wednesday, the Black Caps have withdrawn the services of batting maestro Ross Taylor on the grounds of "resting" from international duties.
It can't be easy for highly-strung internationals to drop to domestic level to maintain the same threshold expected at the high echelons.
"It's awesome when Roscoe returns to play for us. He's a top batter but it's the same scenario we had with Mahela [Jayawardene] this year," says Malan of the retired Sri Lanka international who played for CD in the Super Smash T20 campaign.
"There's no guarantee you'll get runs but it's those little things the other boys will learn from him [Taylor] when they cross the line to the other side that'll become invaluable even in the one game."
He suspects ND will be without any incumbent Black Caps before South Africa arrive later this month but believes it's irrelevant what the opposition bring.
Batsman Ben Smith returns in the mix but will have to have a watertight case to go past Clarkson.
Echoing the sentiments of field marshall Young, Malan says leaving out Clarkson was tough but selection is a beast that doesn't discriminate.
"At the end of the day, injecting Ross Taylor, who is pretty much the best batsman New Zealand has ever produced, isn't the worst thing in the world so Clarkey comes straight back into the next game."
Malan says the Stags are well versed in the CD mantra of everyone in the squad of 16 vying for a berth in the starting XI.
In the last three games or so different individuals have started putting up their hands to let natural selection take control.
Adhering to that sort of Darwinist principle has resulted in the purple patch and has the blessings of the coaching stable.
It has been blustery in the past two days in New Plymouth but Malan is expecting a good wicket amid some sunshine.
The Stags are comfortable in the knowledge that should inclement weather abandon play they will proceed to the next knockout round by virtue of finishing third.
"If you ever want to win any competition you have to beat any team on any day so we're definitely looking forward to playing that ND side again who have quite a few Black Caps who aren't playing but have a young and exciting squad as well."
While a lot is often made of batting, it is easy to overlook the input of bowlers who need to be in the straight and narrow of an unforgiving strip or find themselves splattered on the windscreen.
The return of Black Cap Ben Wheeler and fellow new-ball seamer Seth Rance has lifted CD's resolve but Malan emphasises one cannot go past the return of spinners George Worker and Patel.
"Jazzy [Patel] can bowl 10 overs for a wicket, including three maidens, and go for 37 so it was an absolutely fantastic effort with a proper opposition with [three] Black Caps in their midst and on a small ground," he says, also alluding to Worker's best A List bowling figures of 4-22 as he approaches the 500-run mark, five runs shy of becoming the first batsman to achieve that in the format this summer.
