Neal Parlane brought up his 100th appearance for Northland during their Brian Dunning Trophy win in Taupo. PHOTO/TANIA WHYTE
Neal Parlane brought up his 100th appearance for Northland during their Brian Dunning Trophy win in Taupo. PHOTO/TANIA WHYTE
Neal Parlane has hit another century for Northland - however this one wasn't done with the bat.
The 39-year-old became just the sixth player to bring up 100 appearances for Northland, doing so during their successful Brian Dunning Trophy run in Taupo.
Parlane joins Barry Cooper, Brian Dunning, Murray Child, Lance Mountain and Dennis Lloyd in the prestigious 100 club.
He said it's a special achievement.
"I'm extremely proud! I'm a proud and passionate Northlander and to play 100 games for our great province is a huge honour," he said.
"During my nine or so seasons away my plan was always to come back and play for Northland again. When I finally did come back, the 100 game mark was definitely something I had in the back of my mind.
"It's taken 25 years but I'm immensely proud to be the 6th member of the Northland 100 club."
The Maungakaramea batsman has amassed an enviable record of 3300 runs (including 10 centuries), 70 catches and 14 wickets across his Northland career.
Add to that a first class record of 5602 runs at an average of 35.91 in 103 games for Northern Districts, Wellington and Auckland, and his stats speak for himself.
Parlane made over 100 first class appearances in his domestic career, hitting 12 centuries. PHOTO/JOHN STONE
Parlane remembers his Northland debut against Auckland in 1992, a two-dayer at Eden Park, though it wasn't the most eventful of matches for him.
"I played as a keeper and batted 9. I was extremely nervous going into the match especially with a splattering of first class players in the Auckland team," he said.
"We bowled first on the usual flat dung heap on the outer Oval. [Former Black Cap] Matt Horne scored a hundred from memory. He and I had quite the conversation between balls for the 60 overs or so that he batted.
"No byes, no catches so a pretty uneventful day 1. Day 2 saw me sit and watch our boys bat. When I finally got my turn, I got a nice wee ball on the hip to get off the mark first ball and then snicked off a couple of balls later."
In a long career with Northland, Parlane has experienced many highs with tournament wins and has many fond memories of the side.
"I've played with a lot of Northland legends (and am currently playing with a few future legends) and have made plenty of lifelong mates," he said.
"Obvious things like playing that first match, scoring my first hundred, first game as captain, winning the Ubix Cup (now Hawke Cup again) and winning the Fergus Hickey are all things that I will always remember but the favourite has to be captaining Northland to win the Brian Dunning Trophy for the first time.
Parlane plays his club cricket for Maungakaramea and says retirement isn't on the cards just yet. PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
"Dunnos is a true Northland legend and to win a trophy named after Northland's finest for the first time was a great feeling."
Parlane has no immediate plans of stepping away, saying "you are a long time retired" and is excited by the immediate prospects of the current Northland crop.
Playing for Northland is an honour that was impressed upon him as a youngster and one that still holds firm 100 caps later.
"Growing up playing age group cricket being coached by the likes of Bob Cunis and Murray Child it was always drummed into you that we were seen as the country bumpkins of Northern Districts cricket," he said.
"We were seen as unfashionable and had to do more than the Ham-Aucks and the South Aucklanders to get selected. This created a bond. People weren't just playing for themselves like they did in the more 'fancied' provinces, we were playing for Northland.
"To represent this province it was and is still a great honour. It's not about any one player, its about the whole of Northland.
Captaincy was always on the agenda for Parlane and it was a role he thrived in. "I didn't get to do a lot of it a first class level but when I did I felt it lifted my game. Coming back to Northland and captaining was a big deal for me," he said.
"I never wanted to leave Northland in the first place so the opportunity to come back and not only play but to also captain was something very special to me.
Parlane said captaincy was always something he desired to do and enjoyed his opportunities leading from the front. PHOTO/TANIA WHYTE
"The toughest part of captaining Northland has always been trying to retain a certain distance between myself and the players. With such a great bunch of guys its natural that you want to be involved in a lot of the banter and off field activities.
"As captain it's important that you aren't just one of the boys. The flip side of that is that you don't want to be seen as too aloof."Parlane is still a major part of a younger Northland unit which has impressed in the early stages of the 2017/18 season.
The goals are always set high in the Northland changing sheds - and for good reason - and this year is no exception with a plethora of talented players.
Parlane said trophy wins are in their sights.
"Every game I've ever played for Northland the expectation has been to win. We went into this season looking to secure the challenge for the Hawke Cup and then win it," he said.
"With our recent first innings loss to the Ham-Aucks we were knocked out of the running for the Hawke Cup Challenge. But last weekend we won the Brian Dunning Trophy by winning the T20 tournament in Taupo.
"With two rounds to go in the Fergus Hickey we are second to Counties but we still have to play them so it is mostly in our hands.
"The current squad is an extremely talented bunch. It's a young side (apart from me) but a lot of the group have played a fair few games. I don't think this team quite has the hard edge of the early teams I played in but that is something that comes with experience and exposure.
"The never say die or attitude that the team had and was famous for back in the 'old days' is starting to come back. I'm not sure some of the younger lads realise what an honour it is to play for Northland but when they do that hard edge will develop all the more quickly."
