Men aim to continue strong form and knock over the Bay

While the aim is to challenge for the Hawke Cup, the focus for the Northland men's cricket side is knocking over Bay of Plenty this weekend in Mount Maunganui.

Northland will want to continue their strong form in the Fergus Hickey Competition from last year, which saw them nearly win the right to challenge for the Hawke Cup earlier this year.

However, coming away with a win in their two-day match won't be easy as Bay of Plenty have called on the services of a trio of first-class cricketers. Coach Stephen Cunis wasn't worried though. Despite limited warm-up matches, because of the early start to the representative season, Cunis felt his players were in good shape thanks to the reintroduction of the Dargaville Shield in club cricket.

Cunis said retaining the bulk of last year's squad had helped with preparations, saying the team could press on as players would assume similar roles to last season.

"They're a good team and we've got to make sure we look after our back lawn if we're going to be in with a shot," Cunis told the Advocate, adding Bay of Plenty lost the Hawke Cup to Manawatu in the challenger series earlier this year. "We just need to put the planning and preparation we've done into play. I think the key to it is if we play well and as a team then the Fergus Hickey and Hawke Cup will take care of themselves.

"We haven't played as many pre-season trials as we would have wanted but we're starting the Fergus Hickey two weeks earlier. In saying that though we're not under-done because we knew we'd be starting early. The Dargaville Shield has been good because it's a good standard for club cricket."

He added that Northland would have the services of legends Joey Yovich and James Marshall for some games this season, although Cunis would prefer them for more.

One new player into the Northland fold is South African leg spinner Tyler Lawson who has moved to Northland in a bid to play first-class cricket for Northern Districts, and hopefully the Black Caps one day.

Last night Cunis coached the North Island team in the North vs South Twenty20 clash in Hamilton.

Northland's next Fergus Hickey match is at the Cobham Oval against Hamilton on November 15 and 16.

Today also sees the Lion Red Cup one-day competition kick off for club cricketers, with Maungakaramea hosting Onerahi Central and Whangarei Boys' High facing Kaipara.