Amelia Walmsley of the Silver Ferns during Test three. Photo: Jeremy Ward/Photosport
The Silver Ferns need to win Wednesday night's Test against Australia in Christchurch to force a Constellation Cup series decider, which could see a marathon game play out.
An inventive version of a tiebreaker was added to the Constellation Cup format last year but was not required with the Silver Ferns winning the series 3-1.
But with New Zealand bouncing back in test three in Hamilton on Sunday after two losses in Australia, fans might get to witness it for the first time.
With Australia leading the series 2-1, the Silver Ferns need to win the final test to tie the series two games apiece, forcing series decider time to determine the outright winner.
If that happens the teams will take a 12-minute break, a toss for the next centre pass will be taken, and scores will return to zero.
Play will consist of two seven-minute halves. If the scores are tied at the end of the 14 minutes, the match will move into series decider additional time until one team gets a two-goal lead.
The gold medal match contested between Australia and New Zealand at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010 was one of the most enthralling matches of netball ever played.
The Silver Ferns won gold after going into double extra-time, beating the Diamonds 66-64. The match lasted 84 minutes - the longest-ever official game.
While unlikely, the trans-Tasman rivals could effectively end up playing two lots of extra time on Wednesday night. If the scores are tied at the end of regulation time, they still have to play the usual 14 minutes of extra time, under international test rules.
If the scores are still locked, the game goes into double extra-time until one side gets a two-goal lead, which is what happened in Delhi.
If a series decider time of 14 minutes is then required on the back of a New Zealand win, the game could run in excess of 88 minutes.
While that would beat the time on court in Delhi, it would not officially be recognised by World Netball because series decider time was devised by NNZ and Netball Australia specifically for the Constellation Cup.
Australian captain Liz Watson. Photo: Jeremy Ward/Photosport
Before the change in format, if both countries won two games each, the winner of the series was determined by goal aggregate.
In 2022 and 2023 the series finished 2-all but Australia was declared the winner because the Diamonds scored more goals than New Zealand across the series.
Australian Diamonds captain Liz Watson said it was a great concept for fans but her side wanted to avoid that scenario.
"It's going to bring that element of excitement to the fans and everyone who's coming to watch and I guess it shows that the best team is going to have to win and will have to win on the day so it's a big challenge," Watson said.
"Obviously we don't want it to get to that, we want to try and win the game in 60 minutes and not go into that over time."
Watson said it would be challenging but believed her side could go the distance.
"Definitely a bit harder but we've obviously got lots of confidence …we've got really great depth in this team as well. Our S&C [strength and conditioning] and all the work we've done has prepared us for these moments so we've got to relish in those and if it does come to that we'll take it on and we'll go for it."
The fourth test starts at 7.40pm in Christchurch.
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