Mark Greatbatch entered the 1992 World Cup reeking of mediocrity. As a number four batsman in one-day cricket, he had averaged a little over 28 and had all of two centuries to his credit. His average or his century count didn’t change until he retired in 1996.

But in between, during just 19 glorious days of a World Cup — all played at home in New Zealand — he revolutionised one-day cricket and the opener’s role in tandem. Not bad for a man known for his stone-walling, middle-order ways.

In fact, due to poor form, Greatbatch didn’t even feature in New Zealand’s first two games of the campaign against Australia and Sri Lanka. And if John Wright, the regular opener, didn’t injure himself before the South Africa match, a desperate Martin Crowe, skipper of NZ, would perhaps have never banked on a near-30-year-old non-opener to do the job for him.

Greatbatch didn’t just do the job. He took the first few steps (out of his crease) to giving birth to the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Shahid Afridi, Virender Sehwag and even T20 cricket.

Few greater leaps, physical or metaphorical, have been taken on a Leap Year Day. February 29, 1992 — Allan Donald, Brian McMillan, Tertius Bosch and Richard Snell laced South Africa’s attack, hoping to dismiss an ageing novice opener cheaply. Greatbatch hammered 68 off 60 balls (anything over a run-a-ball for an extended period was unheard of back then), with nine fours and two sixes.

Two matches later, again at his home town of Auckland, he was up against the greatest pace attack in the tournament, West Indies. But Greatbatch was in a zone of his own, collaring Malcolm Marshall and Anderson Cummins to all parts of the ground, before doing the impossible — stepping out to Curtly Ambrose, arching his back to make space against disconcerting bounce and cutting him past point for a flurry of fours and a carved six. Three sixes and seven fours peppered his 63. A legend was born.

The Kiwi hit 73 against India in the following match and was the only batsman in NZ’s top-eight to reach double digits (42) vs Pakistan in the final match of the group stages. But it was against the same opposition in the semis — bowled for 17 by an Aaqib Javed slower one during his shimmy — that brought the party to an end, both for him and his team.

Still, the damage had been done. And a player who had been nothing but mediocre in his career allowed the sport to take a leaf from his pamphlet of momentary greatness and move on.