For a brief moment, Rupert Bool takes a break from compressing his cherished cricket pitch.
The South African team, including some of the world's best players - AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn - are flinging themselves through some absorbing fielding drills.
"It's pretty special having the best seat in the house and there's no one else here," said the head groundsman of Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
It's a perk of the job during a rare quiet moment.
The eyes of the world - literally, with an expected TV audience of 2.2 billion - will watch Saturday's opening match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 between co-hosts New Zealand and Sri Lanka at his precious park.
Mr Bool, 32, is well aware of the pressures involved in producing a picture-perfect pitch and pristine carpet-like outfield for such an important international sporting event.
"It's pretty daunting, but it gives me extra motivation to cut the outfield that one more time and go that extra mile.
"It'll be very special," he said.
It's been a busy few years for Mr Bool.
After an apprenticeship at New Zealand Cricket's Lincoln base, and then as second-in-charge at Hamilton's Seddon Park, he took the top job at Hagley Oval after the city's devastating earthquakes in 2011.
The city's famous old ground, Lancaster Park, was still bubbling with liquefaction and surrounded by cracked and creaking grandstands, when he was tasked with transforming Hagley - where cricket had been played since early settler days - into an international ground.
"We dug it up and started from scratch," Mr Bool said.
Around $1 million was spent on a new pitch block - half comprising Kakanui and half Waikari soils - and "bird proof" outfield, which has a fungi that makes birds feel ill and keeps them off the grass.
Cricket observers and players are now surprised at just how pacy and bouncy the new pitches are.
The big examination came on Boxing Day when it hosted the city's first test match in eight years, with the Black Caps playing Sri Lanka.
"It was pretty stressful in the days leading up to that," Mr Bool said.
"But when [Brendon] McCullum scored 195 on the first day - an innings so awesome and one that I will never forget - it made my day. I went home with a smile on my face."
Groundsmen have not been given specific directions on how to prepare their pitches for the tournament.
ICC chief executive David Richardson said the preference was for pitches that "generally favour" batsmen.
With the world cup opener just two days away, Mr Bool is confident he's got the mix right. "It'll be out of my hands once the first ball is bowled and I can just sit back and watch it all and get paid for it."
Cricket World Cup security has been beefed up after five International Cricket Council laptops were stolen in Christchurch just days before the tournament opens in the city.
The password-protected computers were loaded with vetting information, police say.
But the ICC yesterday "categorically" denied that there were details on the machines of a personal or sensitive nature relating to players or media.
An ICC spokesman also rejected claims the laptops had been used by staff to access a highly-confidential database that stored passport, visa, and drives licence details.
"There was no personal, or in any way sensitive, information on any of the machines, and nothing that could, or has, compromised our accreditation system," the spokesman said.
Police are investigating the Saturday night break-in at Hagley Netball Centre, which volunteers have been using as a base to issue accreditation passes.
Canterbury District Commander Superintendent Gary Knowles yesterday said a security guard had been on duty that night.
However, a source told NZME. the guard had been called off duty before the break-in happened.
Asked whether there had been security at the time of the theft, the ICC spokesman said they had been told by police there had been.
Police refused to answer further questions surrounding the burglary, saying only the investigation was ongoing.
The local ICC organising committee said it has confidence in the security measures.
As a precaution, the ICC has increased security at its Christchurch accreditation centre and other accreditation centres.
For more coverage of the Cricket World Cup from nzherald.co.nz and NZME check out #CricketFever.