An awe-inspiring knock of 135 saw Brad Kneebone elevate Northland to a first innings total of 326/6 in their latest Northern Districts Fergus Hickey Rosebowl match versus Bay of Plenty. Though the match resulted in a draw, Kneebone's cutting-edge performance saw Northland declare shortly after the loss of his wicket to set Bay of Plenty a sizeable total to chase.
"Knees [Kneebone] was outstanding, he played a very gritty innings and it certainly epitomised being a Northland player," Stephen Cunis said.
![Bradley Kneebone had an impressive outing for Northland.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/WCHOQJKCMZ63THJKMSTMDBQJ7I.jpg?auth=6d826d77c4001d1591d78cea134ef9030a0e530465a04042d72969cf0fd9dee4&width=16&height=12&quality=70&smart=true)
"We started really well. Brad and Ben Hyde put on 100 for the first wicket. Henry Cooper came on at five and he and Brad Kneebone put on a nice partnership. Rory Christopherson and Brad put on over 100 for the fifth wicket which was bloody outstanding," Cunis added of the 87-over first stanza.
Winning the toss, the visitors opted to field first.