CRICKET - Flawless bowling the key to victory

Northland wicket-keeper Brett Hood has pleasant memories of Napier's Nelson Park and he's hoping to go two from two there this weekend when Northland begin their challenge for the Hawke Cup tomorrow.
The last occasion he played at the venue, in 2003, was the last time that Northland won the trophy, which is held in the same regard as the Ranfurly Shield, in interprovincial cricket in New Zealand.
Chances to challenge for the trophy are normally few and far between and Hood's chances of repeated success in Napier are, he believes, down to his bowlers.
Hood, who captained the side in the ill-fated loss to Bay of Plenty last weekend said an improvement in Northland's bowling attack will be essential to a win.
"The key is going to be who bowls the best because you can't win if you don't get 10 wickets at least," he said.
"We're hoping we've learned our lessons from the last game and having Joey (Yovich) back in the side to spearhead our attack will help, unfortunately we don't have Stephen John which is a bit of a blow to us in the bowling department," he said.
The Pakistani professional and young paceman Josh Matthews are both unavailable through injury but instead of opting for another pace bowler to complement Yovich, Northland have included another batsman.
Zimbabwean professional Terry Duffin has been included as an opener in the side which will further strengthen the batting line-up, already boosted by the appearance of Yovich and fellow Northern Districts batsman Michael Parlane and Brad Wilson.
The ND trio were all due to arrive in Napier last night, joining the rest of the team that suffered through a nine-hour mini-bus trip south after a clash in scheduling with a concert at the Mission Estate Vineyard meant that most flights into Napier were booked out.
James Marshall is the only other omission from the team. He is still recovering from a broken toe.
"We've got a team where we bat right down to number-11, so obviously they're going to have to bowl well to get through our batting line-up," Hood said.
Hood said he was expecting a good wicket to bat on and unlike in 2003, when David Pinny and Dean Potter ripped through the Hawke's Bay batsmen to inflict an innings defeat on their opponents, he is expecting the home side to be a tough nut to crack.
Hawke's Bay coach Dale Smidt told Hawkes Bay Today this week that the Bay team for this weekend's challenge was the best side "on paper" to be selected for 30 years.
Seven of the side have played at first class level and another three at provincial A level, with an in-form Matthew Sinclair likely to be the number-one target for Northland's bowlers.
"We're well aware of how dangerous he is, Sinclair's a class act but I don't think it requires a change of plan, we've just got to get our lines right," Hood reiterated.
Unsettled weather forecast for much of the country over the weekend could see the match turned into a one innings competition, with a first innings win enough to bring home the trophy that Hawkes Bay took off Hamilton a couple of weeks ago.
"It should be a good game, with both teams having their first class players available it should be a high quality sort of a game, and I certainly hope it'll be another game to remember," Hood said.
The team will have a light training session before the three-day match starts tomorrow.