There is an old saying in cricket - if you win the toss bat first and if you are in doubt what to do then bat anyway.
It was certainly a theory former Australian Test captains Mark Taylor and Ian Chappell subscribed to and it's hard to query the success rate two of Australia's greatest captains enjoyed by using that tactic.
But at lunch on the opening day of the Sheffield Shield final between Victoria and Queensland at the MCG on Wednesday, Bushrangers skipper Cameron White must have been cursing himself for sticking to that trusted theory.
With Victoria only needing a draw to win back-to-back Sheffield Shields for the first time in 30 years, White made the only decision that seemed plausible when he won the toss - he chose to bat first.
But when White himself departed to the first ball he faced after lunch to leave his side's first innings in tatters at 6-75, he would have been forgiven for thinking 'what have I done?'
After all he had chosen to give the Queensland attack - which is the strength of the Bulls' line-up - first use of a wicket that looked surprisingly green for the start of a Sheffield Shield final and thus deny the Vics the best possible batting conditions in a game in which they only needed to bat well to triumph.
And it gave the Bulls the best possible chance of making the early inroads they so desperately needed to make to have any chance of victory.
One of the biggest flaws of the Shield final concept and one of the reasons why it has been rumoured this year's contest could be the last one, is that the home side only has to draw to claim the title while the away side of course has to win.
Not surprisingly just five of 27 visiting teams since the final first began in the early 1980's (prior to that the top team at the end of the season lifted the Shield) have won the Shield final away from home.
And that has mostly been because of the home side batting on forever in its first innings on pitches tailor made for batting given the need to only have to draw the match to win the Shield in the first place.
Queensland skipper Chris Simpson said in the lead-up to this match there was no way known his team was going to send the Vics into bat if he won the toss - remembering what happened the last time the Bulls played a Shield final at the MCG six years ago when then captain Jimmy Maher won the toss and chose to bowl and watched as the Bushrangers batted for more than two days in making 710.
So you could hardly blame White for winning the toss and batting as he aimed to again bat the Bulls out of contention in a Shield final at the MCG.
But what he didn't count on was some superb bowling by the visitors as Chris Swan, Luke Feldman and Australian all-rounder James Hopes all struck crucial blows as the Bushrangers' top order surrendered their wickets with little fight.
Queensland was naturally cock a hoop and dreaming of an upset win but again to underline just how difficult a task it is for visiting teams to take 20 wickets cheaply enough to win a Shield final, the Bushrangers fought back with keeper Matthew Wade (96), all-rounder John Hastings (47) and remarkable veteran Damien Wright (42) combining to rescue the innings from disaster.
The Vics ended the first day at 9-286 and while they are still far from safe, at least skipper White will be breathing a little easier knowing his decision to follow a tried and true maxim may not end up being as costly as it could well have been.