Sports correspondent & historian with Sideline Sid

The lens of time provide the rightful place for sporting feats that are too big to comprehend in the immediate outcome of their achievement, because of their magnitude.

With the Bay Oval cricket season almost upon local cricket fans, it’s worth recalling a myriad of milestones that were hard to measure in the flurry of a NZ Cricket first-class encounter played out in the autumn of last season.

Northern Districts had home ground advantage, when Central Districts paid a visit last March to Blake Park to contest a Plunket Shield four day game.

Only a look into a crystal ball of the future could have predicted a game that produced nearly 1400 runs and all but three of the 40 wickets up for grabs, during the NZC Major Association matchup.

Northern Districts won the toss and reached 346 for the loss of four wickets, at stumps on the opening days play.

ND skipper Jeet Raval belted 119 with Bharat Popli also posting a century.

A whirlwind 167 in the first session of day two, resulted in the home side being removed for 513, with Black Cap Mitchell Santner top scoring with 136.

The ND bowlers quickly made inroads into the Central Districts reply, with the visitors well behind the eight-ball, when they were removed for 254, some 259 runs in arrears. Brad Schmulian stood out like a beacon in the dark, with a top score of 108.

Northern Districts continued their stranglehold on the encounter with another quick knock before declaring at 194 for the loss of seven wickets.

CD were set an unlikely target of 463 to win.

Resuming on the final days play, at 71/2, the pendulum was heavily in the hosts favour.

Tom Bruce, coming in at six with his team in desperate trouble at 74/4, combined with CD leader Greg Hay to handle everything that the ND bowling attack could throw at them.

The pair stuck like glue out in the centre of the Bay Oval, putting on a fifth wicket partnership of 270, before Hay was caught and bowled by Tim Pringle, with a neat 150 runs in the book.

Tom Bruce continued his personal blitzkrieg on the ND bowlers and, in tandem with Doug Bracewell, got their side within striking distance of the earlier impossible-seeming target, needing 49 runs for victory with four wickets in hand.

The ND spinners of Mitchell Santner and Tim Pringle, then weaved their magic, removing the final three batters at a cost of just a solitary run.

When Tom Bruce's wicket fell with 161 runs alongside his name, Central Districts were just 36 runs short of a colossal upset.

Superlatives flow easily to describe a match where 1379 runs were posted and 37 wickets fell.

However, it’s the six centuries in the four day match which will have cricket aficionados with smiles of amazement in contemplating a feat that will stand like a giant rock in New Zealand Cricket history well into the future.