It was dispiriting that the first ICC Champions Trophy final in this country should have been played out in such dreary conditions. The somewhat ill-starred competition deserved some luck with the weather but the final stages have been dogged by a Scottish autumn rather than a more becoming Indian summer.
So it was that what should have been an auspicious occasion became a one-off experiment in cold cricket. Winter cricket. A Thermos of soup and a kagoul and a brollie cricket. Staring at the drizzle cricket. Looking out at the North Sea on a cold day in Cromer cricket. For goodness sake let's get on with it and get back into the pavilion cricket.
There was a far longer queue for coffee than champagne. The harassed fish and chipper struggled to convince his many customers to form orderly queues. Nobody but nobody attempted a power nap after lunch. You might sing in the rain but you don't, if you can possibly help it, sleep in the rain.
Despite the unpromising conditions there was plenty apart from the rain to keep everyone awake. In particular the confrontation between a resurgent England team exemplified by the startlingly good form of Andrew Flintoff and a back-from-the dead West Indies side led for the last time in this country by Brian Lara.
The opening exchanges went Lara's way in the most extravagant and spectacular manner. Flintoff was on three, starting out on what seemed destined to be another team-saving century, when he pummelled a ball from Wavell Hinds through the leg side. Only 0.6 seconds later Brian Lara, at midwicket, was holding that same ball in a left hand dangling an inch above the turf. Flintoff looked uncomprehending, Lara was ecstatic.
It was the highlight of a fielding performance almost in the league of Viv Richards in the opening World Cup final at Lord's in 1975. As well as catching Flintoff, he also caught Geraint Jones. Positioned again at midwicket this was a simpler affair as he popped the ball into mid-air and pocketed it to propel Hinds, who had been bobbling in, to figures of 10-3-24-3. More significantly he held a catch to dismiss England's second top scorer, Ashley Giles. And, perhaps, most significantly it was Lara's sharp work which saw Marcus Trescothick run out for 104.
If the opener had seen out the innings it is certain that England would have posted a total in excess of 230 and possible they might have reached 250. As it was, laughable batting from Darren Gough and Alex Wharf saw them subside to 217.
It was an odd and unconvincing effort. Dwayne Bravo with nine wides managing to contribute more to the English total than seven of their batsmen. The West Indies best bowlers being their opening batsmen, the aforementioned Hinds and the seriously unflappable Chris Gayle, who bowled 19.4 overs between them.
The West Indies innings was given a flying start by Gough who proved every bit as much a wide-boy as Dwayne Bravo. He managed seven wides with his opening two balls to leave the West Indies on 7 for 0 without a valid ball having being bowled. Wider than Dwayne is very wide indeed.
Fortunately, England had Steve Harmison surging in from the other end, every bit as fearsome as his reputation. And when Gough was removed from the attack, Flintoff stepped forward and with his first ball had Ramnaresh Sarwan caught horizontally at full-stretch with his weaker hand by Andrew Strauss.
Enter Lara to face his new foe for what would prove to be the vital confrontation of the match. A bouncer from Flintoff was unconvincingly swatted away by Lara for a one-bounce four. Three balls later Flintoff jarred Lara's forearm with a bouncing no-ball. For a while there was equivalence and then in Flintoff's fifth over it seemed that Lara had the advantage as he cover drove the ball to the boundary.
Two balls later he attempted to repeat the feat and was caught behind. Once again, Freddie had turned one of the most mentally strong batsmen in the world into his bunny.
It seemed certain to be a pivotal wicket. Especially as in his next over Flintoff had Bravo caught behind. He had taken as many wickets as he had scored runs to leave England in such a comfortable position they could gamble on bringing back Goughie. His first over, magnificently, was wide-free. It went for 13 runs. He was replaced. Collingwood showed the strength in depth of the England team by taking a couple of cheap wickets, including the crucial one of Chanderpaul.
The sun came out. The West Indies edged their way back into it. The sun disappeared. The West Indians sportingly refrained from coming off despite near total darkness. It became darker. Ominously Goughie was recalled for a third time into the attack.
It was one time too many. Ian Bradshaw and Compton Browne both made their highest scores as the West Indies proved to be the more adept at winter cricket. Lara has struggled so long and so hard that it was impossible not to delight in his belated and unlikely success. A match-winning century would have been a final feather in a remarkable cap. But winning a trophy meant so much more.
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