KEY POINTS:
Nothing should steal the show from the Silver Ferns and their reassuring display of fightback against those pretenders for the world title, Australia.
But for the sake of netball, Saturday night's pandemonium can't be allowed to happen again.
On court, the players reached new heights of aggression in
the 67-65 extra-time win by the Silver Ferns, pushing the boundaries when the speed of the match left the umpires floundering.
But the real sins were courtside, where time-keepers, score-keepers and officials got swept away in the exhilaration of another torrid New Zealand-Australia clash, and the Silver Ferns were forced to win the game twice.
The confusion made the game look amateurish and that's not a good look in world championship year.
After the regulation 60 minutes, the Silver Ferns were ahead by one. But amid the frenzy and the screaming of the crowd, fulltime wasn't called by Jamaican Dalton Hinds or Scotswoman Anne Abraitis, the umpires on court who wear vibrating armbands to let them know time is up.
Even the reserve umpire, who has the power to call the game over, jumped from his seat but no one seemed to notice.
In the meantime, Australia's Sharelle McMahon popped one in to level the score, forcing the game into extra time.
Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken approached the officials bench to get clarification, but the bedlam worsened.
After 14 minutes of extra time, with the score still locked, there was no clear call to carry on until one team got two goals ahead.
Even when Jodi Te Huna finally potted the winner around midnight, confusion reigned over the final score.
Fortunately for the Ferns, they practised scenarios like this for the series. They've rehearsed what to do in double extra time, or if the lights go out (it's happened at least twice at world tournaments), or if Aitken's van goes missing on the way to the game (hasn't happened yet).
It showed, and the Ferns kept their heads in the chaos to level the series. The morning after, the Ferns still weren't sure when they really won the match but when you're the winner (twice) it doesn't really matter.
What does matter is that it must not happen again. Especially at Auckland's world championships in November.
Time needs to be taken off the umpires' hands, or more precisely their vibrating arms. What's needed is a siren, a hooter or an almighty buzzer. The umpires have enough to deal with in trying to keep with the game without having to also clock-watch.
Players need to know how many seconds are left, so the system of stopping the scoreboard clock at a minute to go has to be scrapped.
And a signal is needed to let teams know they've entered the two goals clear sudden-death stage. Netball New Zealand was prepared for it in the National Bank Cup, with an orange flag on the bench.
The Silver Ferns needed to be more aggressive to avenge their first-test loss, and the physical nature of the game increased noticeably.
But it was the competitiveness (as they call it) off the ball that was alarming, and a reminder of the gulf between the top Australasian umpires and the rest of the world.
Players have to take some responsibility for the heightened tension. Knowing the umpires are a split-second off the pace, they're pushing beyond the boundaries of the rules, and often getting away with it.
In this test, the confrontations probably worked in New Zealand's favour - they slowed the game, which suited the Ferns.
In the last quarter, the umpires should have stopped the game and demanded the two teams calm down.
The neutral umpires in these tests need more experience, and the only way this can happen is if they get funding to travel and referee our domestic competitions.
At the moment, there's enough money only to get them to internationals, where they often find themselves drowning in the intensity.
Next year's Tasman Trophy would be a perfect opportunity to soak that next tier of umpires in the ever-quickening pace of Australasian netball.
