Watch: High wind in Wellington drifts the ball ‘far away’ on Day 5 of NZ vs SL Test

As one of the rarest cricketing scenes, high wind at Wellington forced the ball drafting far away from the batsman and the wicketkeeper on Day 5 of New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Test on Monday. High wind often affects the game at Wellington but the amount of drift with which the ball was moving due to the wind, was so evident and extreme.
The force was so high that a delivery Michael Bracewell literally ran away from Sri Lankan tailender Prabath Jayasuriya when he was batting at 2 and Lanka were 337/7 on Monday. The visuals of the incident have gone viral forcing cricket fans to react to it with amazement.
The continuous high wind also forced the broadcaster to reduce their live coverage to Single End footage as the cameraperson had to come down from the elevated area where the camera setup was installed. “For those watching at home, the @sparknzsport camera crew have had to come down from the camera tower at the Adelaide Road end of the Basin Reserve due to extremely high winds in Wellington,” the broadcaster said in a Tweet.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all in cricket. High winds so single end coverage in Wellington. Here’s the supporting evidence… pic.twitter.com/AzQerm4h9b
— Rob Williams (@robwilliams_tv) March 20, 2023
Meanwhile, New Zealand completed an innings and 58-run victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test in blustery Wellington on Monday to sweep the series 2-0 as the South Asian side’s resance finally broke late on day four.

For those watching at home, the @sparknzsport camera crew have had to come down from the camera tower at the Adelaide Road end of the Basin Reserve due to extremely high winds in Wellington. #NZvSL pic.twitter.com/rlMK6wDqiL
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) March 20, 2023
Having been asked to follow on, Sri Lanka needed 416 runs to make the hosts bat again but were bowled out for 358 in their second innings at the Basin Reserve.

New Zealand completed their third Test win in succession after claiming the thrilling series-opener two wickets on the last ball in Chrchurch and beating England one run in another cliffhanger in Wellington.
Sri Lanka’s hopes of a first win in the country since 2006 all but ended when their batters managed only 164 in reply to New Zealand’s declared first innings total of 580 for four.