Strangely enough it wasn't all good news for the charmed Craig Cumming after a successful return to test cricket last Saturday.
To his teammates' surprise, he didn't win Lotto that night.
Although the Otago captain's numbers didn't come up he was still counting his lucky stars ahead ofthe second test against Sri Lanka starting at the Basin Reserve today.
Cumming may have created some sort of cricketing history by being caught three times off no balls during a blessed comeback to the New Zealand top order in the first test in Christchurch.
"It could have been worse," the understated 31-year-old admitted at New Zealand's final net session yesterday.
While cursed opening partner Jamie How was dismissed for a duck and 11, Cumming was caught on two in the first innings then one and 26 in the second, only to each time be called back from his retreat to the pavilion.
Both times Cumming went on to score 43, enough to give him some confidence against a bowling attack whose luck is due to change.
"I've never had that much good fortune," he said, before swiftly downplaying its relevance. It's no different to being dropped. I've seen guys get dropped three or four times in one innings. To be honest people have made too a big deal out of it."
Cumming admitted he never heard the umpire's call when Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga and Farveez Maharoof overstepped so he could not claim to have known he had immunity when he edged two deliveries to slip and mistimed a pull shot.
Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and got on with the game.
"I'm not embarrassed by it," he said. "Cricket's one of those games where a lot of the time you feel you're running short on luck and you don't get what you deserve.
"It was nice to get a bit come my way."
But there was still a slightly hollow feeling after his failure to really capitalise on his letoffs.
"It'd be nice to kick on and get a good score, one that really counts. On this pitch [the Basin Reserve] 40 isn't going to win test matches, you need to turn those into big scores."
