Cricket: Game on at Oval in shield opener

Ish Sodhi, Black Caps leg spinner, appeared for the Northern Knights at Cobham Oval last season. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Whangarei's Cobham Oval will today host the first game of New Zealand first-class domestic cricket for the 2014 season, with the Northern Knights hosting the Auckland Aces.

Starting at 10.30am, today's game - which signifies the start of the Plunket Shield - will run to Sunday and is one of the region's two first-class matches this season.

Two Northlanders will be involved; opener Brad Wilson and wicketkeeper Rory Christopherson, who made his debut for Northern Districts last season. However, the extent of the pair's involvement will be unclear until the toss.

Hosting the first game of the season was exciting, said Northland Cricket Association general manager Warren Marr. He invited Northlanders to go along and see some of the country's top players.

Marr said the match was being hosted a lot earlier than usual because of Cricket World Cup commitments elsewhere around the country, not that he was worried.

"This is very early for the Cobham Oval to get a match given the wet springs we have," Marr said.

"But thankfully we've had some time to prepare the wicket, so we're getting there.

"Because of what is happening with Cricket World Cup warm-up matches in Hamilton, we were the default game for this.

"We would have got two home games anyway, it's just earlier than we thought."

Former first-class cricketer Neal Parlane, who hails from the region and now works for Northland Cricket, said the Plunket Shield match could hold special meaning for Wilson and Christopherson if they played.

For Parlane though, the Cobham Oval was never a happy hunting ground. He never managed any big scores at the ground in his first-class days.

"Personally, I wasn't a fan of the old Cobham Oval and the venue has never been one I've done as well as I should have.

"It was always good to come back and play in front of your mates but it was never one I focused on," Parlane said.

Marr said that Northlanders are more than welcome to pop up to the Spire Pavilion to watch the match and enjoy the hospitality.

Entry into the match is free.