Bowl off’s, bashed babes and bye byes.

For the vast majority of the crowd at Eden Park, tonight’s Twenty20 game against the West Indies was about just one thing. Saying goodbye to Chris Cairns.

When Cairns walked out to bat a cheer erupted through the crowd that sent a genuine chill up your spine. When he walked off the field only moments later, having spluttered his way to two runs, every man woman and child stood to applaud this iconic cricketer’s exit from the game. Cairns even looked as though he may have shed a tear, and who would blame him?

The crowd begged for a Cairns wicket. When none came they pleaded for a six to sail from Eden Park. When none of those came either, they knew that Cairns would save his fairytale exit for the ‘bowl off’ but alas Cairns missed the stumps by a country mile.

In the end it mattered little. Cairns was given a heroes send off that his contribution to New Zealand cricket fully justified.

The game though was interrupted on several occasions by people invading the pitch. Some clothed, some naked, all I suspect drunk as summer skunks. All bar one were male. The brave lass that stripped off and streaked was dealt a harsh hand by a security guard who was clearly trying out for a place in the All Blacks rugby squad. She was tackled fiercely by the guard who was comfortably three times her size and she crashed to the ground with quite a sickening thump.

Some will say she deserved what she got for streaking. Some will say the guard showed shocking judgement in his tackling of such a slight woman. Whatever the opinion, it made for very disturbing viewing when the poor girls head ricocheted off the hard Eden Park turf. I suspect her streaking days are done.

The Bowl Off was unfortunately the highlight of what was a sub standard Twenty20 game from a batting perspective at least. And even then, it was a highlight only because so many attempts to hit the stumps from both teams went comically wide.

It was a bizarre end to an emotion filled night, that by its sheer oddness ensured that for those who were there, Chris Cairns’s last international game will live long in the memory.

I’m glad I was there.