CRICKET - U17 go-getters compared with greats from the '90s

The future of Northland cricket seems assured as long as the region can hang on to its up-and-coming stars, Northland under-17 coach Karl Treiber says.
Late yesterday, Treiber and his young charges were on their way back to Northland after taking out second place in the Northern Districts Under-17 Championship in Gisborne.
He said while the team came agonisingly close to winning the tournament, they should all be proud of the efforts they put in.
Treiber has been coaching the team since they were under-14s and he says it's the most exciting young team the region has had for at least a decade. In fact, he rates them as highly as the team from the 1990s that included the likes of Dion Nash, Matthew Bell, Neil and Michael Parlane and Stephen Cunis.
"They were all great players who ended up drifting off and playing most of their first-class cricket elsewhere," he said. "In the next few years, I'd expect to see the core of this team to move up into the full Northland team and at least half of them should make the Northland B side this year."
But with the likes of university calling and other regions on the lookout for good players, the challenge would be keeping as many of this talented under-17 team in the region as possible.
"It's a very solid side for the future.
"It's probably the best young group of players we've had up here for at least a decade."
The under-17 tournament was held on a "very batter-friendly flat track" which produced plenty of runs and played into the hands of Northland's batting stars.
Northland swept aside allcomers in its pool, racking up scores of 264, 291 and 306 in its three one-day games, before facing off against Counties/Manukau in the two-day final. There each team had up to a whole day to bat and, after batting first, Counties/Manukau notched up a very respectable 327 in 123 overs.
Then, on Monday, Northland started its run chase in impressive style. Openers Todd Beehre and Rory Darkins, who finished the tournament with healthy averages of 76 and 79 respectively, raced to 198 without loss.
"At one stage, we were 200 for one and looking well on target, but then we got the wobbles in the middle order and were bowled out for 319 in 107 overs," Treiber said.
"We did the traditional Black Caps thing and managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory."
He said that, while Beehre and Darkins played consistently well, the entire squad all contributed to the success.
"Although they came up a bit short, they should all be proud of what they achieved. Counties/Manukau played very well in the final, but we are right at the top of the tree in the Northern District age group level and it looks good for the future for us."