If the smile on the face of Jim Rosenthal, the presenter of ITV’s coverage of the draw for the FA Cup third round, looked especially wide yesterday, it was probably because, just before the cameras rolled, someone had reminded him of a plan to hold the event on the pitch at rainswept Histon.

All concerned would have agreed that FA headquarters at Soho Square was a far better - ie, warmer and drier - venue and it is becoming a familiar one. But Rosenthal and the two former FA Cup winners drawing the teams, Ray Clemence and Sir Trevor Brooking, had still savoured Histon’s victory over Leeds United on television while in make-up. A great result before the draw, Brooking, the FA’s director of football development, said.

There was just time to listen to the postmatch reactions before decanting the famous balls from the red velvet bag into the less traditional Perspex bowl. Matthew Langston, Histon’s man of the match, hoped to be drawn away to West Ham United. “I’ll take that,” Brooking, the former West Ham midfield player, caretaker manager and director, said.

All are agreed that a televised Sunday draw is superior to the old-fashioned radio event on Monday lunchtime; better to see the balls drawn than hear them rattling. To make sure everything went smoothly, there had been a full rehearsal, which threw up some encounters that neutrals and fans might have preferred. “It’s unlucky if you give a small club who are desperate from a financial point of view a tie against a big club in the rehearsal and then they get a Coca-Cola League Two side away,” Brooking said.

So, to spare their feelings, we will not reveal which nonLeague side would have played on a great European stage, instead of a ground where Uefa Cup ties are a distant memory. And how heartbreaking it would have been for another small club to hear Rosenthal say, “They wanted a top Barclays Premier League club and they have got one” as they were drawn away to a top-flight London side. There was also relief for Brooking that a tricky tie for West Ham in the Midlands would not take place. “Happy with that one?” Rosenthal asked. “We’ll do better next time,” was the reply. And they did.

But the draw is as transparent as it appears, with no balls heated so that they can be identified by touch. It is simple to follow and quickly done, unlike the convoluted exercises in which Uefa and Fifa seem to specialise. “The beauty of it is that you could get anybody,” Clemence said. And to prove the point, a few minutes later he sent Liverpool to Preston North End.

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