Eight-year-old James McMullen knows his cricket.
"The Blackcaps were robbed at the Cricket World Cup," he insists.
Still disappointed at that one-day outcome, a day at the Black Caps v England T20 in Nelson was meant to erase any lingering pain for the local lad.
Since it was his first-ever international game, he received some motherly advice.
"I said, 'Don't try and catch the ball, because I don't want to spend the day in the ambulance'," says Sarah McMullen.
But when Mitchell Santner swatted a delivery over the boundary and into the crowd, no-one knew just how sage that advice would prove.
Distracted by stepdad Steve Hussey, who was handing out muffins, James took his eye off the game for a sweet treat, only to bear the full brunt of the ball to his face.
"He dropped down and I thought, 'Oh my goodness'," says Hussey. "Everybody around us did this audible gasp."
Adding insult to injury...
"I was lying on the ground and I dropped my muffin," laments James. "My chocolate muffin!"
After a quick trip to the ambulance and and now sporting an impressive shiner, James returned to his seat to watch the rest of the game.
Afterwards, a remorseful Santner eased the pain.
"This is the ball that Mitchell Santner signed," says James. "It says, 'Sorry mate, the only one I hit out of the middle'."
The England team chipped in with a signed hat and the experience has not put James off attending another match, although maybe he should consider wearing a helmet next time.
"No!" he insists.
We'll see what mum has to say about that.
