Red traffic light restrictions limiting gatherings to a maximum of 100 people are emptying sports grounds, leaving athletes to perform in front of a smattering of spectators.
The embankment at Fitzherbert Park in Palmerston North was mostly empty for the match. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
The difference was obvious in Palmerston North on Tuesday, when one of New Zealand's greatest cricketers walked out to bat.
Ross Taylor, recently retired from test cricket and soon to finish all international matches, would normally receive a loud welcome on his former home ground, Fitzherbert Park.
Instead the acclaim was muted as the few dozen people allowed into the match, in a fenced-off area, politely applauded.
Top New Zealand and Central Districts batsman Ross Taylor has played to many far bigger crowds. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
A midweek domestic one-day match between Central Districts and Auckland is never going to sell out, but normally several hundred people would stretch out on the grass for a day at the cricket.
Not at the moment though, as sport gets used to reduced crowds.
Manawatū Cricket Association general manager James Lovegrove moved to allow the few dozen people, who were associated with the sport, to get into the ground.
The rules were strict: vaccine passes, no contact with players or officials, and a quick trip out the back to toilets in the adjourning hockey pavilion rather than the usual ablution blocks.
He was disappointed more people couldn't attend - under normal circumstances he expects a crowd of 800 to 1000 - but was happy cricket could continue, even if the atmosphere was different.
"We couldn't have any vendors in, so we're having a BBQ, and things like that," he said.
"It's just finding the hoops you have to get through and jumping through those hoops to make it possible.
"I think that's the responsibility of any community organisation to do that, to look for reasons to play or for reasons to hold events rather than look for reasons to cancel."
James Lovegrove is happy cricket can continue even if attendance is limited. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Like many sports administrators, Lovegrove worked overtime to make sure the logistics of operating under the red rules ran smoothly.
"It's fantastic that we've got cricket in red. Yeah, we'd like a crowd. Yes, it could be different, but let's just embrace what we've got and enjoy it."
Many spectators RNZ spoke to missed the buzz of a bigger crowd, and worried the players would too, but some did not mind at all.
Jack Peters, 11, Max Gunning, 10, and Aiden McGregor, 11, were happy there was more space for their own cricket match.
Jack Peters, left, Max Gunning and Aiden McGregor were happy the lack of a crowd made room for their own cricket. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Over the next few weeks, test cricket, Super Rugby and the Women's Cricket World Cup are likely to play in front of reduced crowds.
Sports psychologist Dr Gary Hermansson said in the absence of packed stands, sportspeople would have to come up with ways of performing at their usual level.
"I think the challenge is going to be difficult because we are social beings by nature. We tend to perform within an environment where people are watching and supporting.
"Research indicates that a home crowd makes a difference."
Faced with empty stands, athletes would have to call on their mental ability to focus on what is happening in the middle rather than be distracted by the crowd or, in the red setting, the lack of one.
"It's important to find strategies where that's possible, to turn it into something which keeps the motivation and energy going rather than just getting into a flat space where it feels somewhat indifferent."
Dr Gary Hermansson, left, and Ross Taylor. Photo: Supplied
Hermansson, a former first-class cricketer and rugby player who has worked as a sports psychologist at Olympics and Commonwealth Games, said New Zealand teams would miss out on riding the wave of home support.
The men's cricketers had tapped into home fans' support in making the finals at the 1992 and 2015 World Cups on home turf, while the All Blacks were cheered on by the Eden Park crowd as they grimly held on against France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final.
