[1] Greatbatch was at the crease for 11 hours (2 days) to save New Zealand from defeat, the game ending in a draw because of his efforts.
[citation needed] For the 1992 Cricket World Cup Greatbatch was not selected to play in the first match, against Australia.
However, he was selected to open against South Africa in place of John Wright, who had been injured, and proceeded to bat to take advantage of fielding restrictions early in the innings.
The strategy worked, so was repeated again throughout the World Cup and Greatbatch became one of the first 'pinch hitter' players to open an innings in One Day Internationals.
[citation needed] Because of this success other cricketing nations, notably Sri Lanka, adopted the idea of opening with an aggressive batsman who normally plays in the middle order of test matches to score quick runs early and this tactic is now common in international cricket.