Palmerston North Boys' High needed to skittle Rotorua Boys' High if they were to make the Super Eight tournament, so up stepped fast bowler Matt Rowe.
After a rain-washed game against Hamilton Boys the day earlier, Palmerston North Boys needed a miracle to vastly improve their lagging net run rate.
Their task wasn't made any easier by the fact their match was moved from a grass wicket to an artificial one in Tauranga., forcing Rowe to hold himself back.
What happened next sent the year 13's teammates into a frenzy, as Rowe proceeded to take nine wickets, including six in one over.
He finished with figures of 9/12, with the only wicket he missed out being a runout, as he guided Palmerston North Boys to an unlikely spot in the final.
"It was everything I don't like about fast bowling, to be honest," he told Newshub. "I was bowling in sneakers, on an arty [artificial], with dew on the ground. It wasn't good, but it was good."
"The first two I snicked them off, I was getting it to swing around a bit, just nicked them off, just regulation slip catches. Then they all just started missing straight ones if I'm honest.
"I was just pissed off I wasn't getting them out quick enough because I really wanted to get through to the final, so I thought I'll just go pole hunting and see what can happen.
"The first ball he snicked it and that one was out, and then the next five were just poles cartwheeling, to be honest."
"We were all just stunned to be honest we didn't really know what was going on. I'm sure you can see in the video all my teammates just going nuts around me I'm like 'what's going on?'. You don't really see that happen too often so we were all surprised."
It most likely won't be the last you hear about Rowe, having also been invited to the New Zealand under-19 training camp at Lincoln.
But for now, he will be looking to take Palmerston North Boys' High one step further and claim the Super Eight title on Thursday.
