Debut at last - if rain holds

SHIELD PRACTICE: Northern Districts' James Baker and teammates train at Cobham Oval before their Plunket Shield match against Wellington tomorrow. PHOTO/JOHN STONE

Northland wicketkeeper Rory Christopherson hopes to finally make his first-class debut in the Plunket Shield match at Cobham Oval tomorrow.

The weather ruled out the 25-year-old taking the field last week but tomorrow Northern Districts begin a four-day match against the Wellington Firebirds.

The Kaipara Flats cricketer, a qualified physiotherapist, spent the four days of cricket holed up in the pavilion as rain came and went.

"It was okay, but was frustrating not to get on the field," Christopherson said of last week's match against Wellington, which still technically counts as a debut. "There were glimpses of hope of getting the gloves on."

Cobham Oval, though, would be ideal for Christopherson to get out in the middle because he would have the support of his family, friends, and coaches.

"Obviously it's good, in a way, being familiar with the Cobham Oval, as opposed to Karori Park [Wellington] which was a dark and low-cloud park. If I had to pick between the two, I'd go Cobham oval.

"Off the top of my head, I can't think of a better place to play in terms of wicketkeeping and playing. I can't remember too many bad-weather matches."

Pre-planning any celebrations for claiming catches when he does take the field is out of the question - although he won't count out a celebration of sorts if he's lucky enough to score a ton.

"All you can do is train and play accordingly to how you train. You see the ball, catch the ball, see the ball, hit the ball.

"The one thing I do is try not to think of when anything could happen, because that's when the negative thoughts come in."

Northland Cricket general manager Warren Marr said it would be special for Christopherson to play at his home ground for the first time in Northern whites.

"It's fantastic for someone like Rory to get a chance [for Northern Districts]," Marr said, noting Christopherson was the first Northlander in nearly a decade to debut for the team.

"He was supposed to play his debut last week so we're hoping the weather is good so he can get the gloves on out in the middle.

"We've prepared a four-day wicket, should be pretty good with plenty of runs. Sunday looks good [weather-wise], but the long range forecast isn't great."

The Plunket Shield match will be Northland's second this season. The region also hosted the Indian side two weeks ago and the Dutch side in January.

Marr said they had received glowing feedback from New Zealand Cricket and the Indian side for their hosting of the New Zealand invitational XI match against India.

"We were absolutely ecstatic with what happened with the Indians ... we've had great feedback."

Entry to the Shield game is free.