Northland come up short in run chase

Northland set out to avenge a mediocre start to their Brian Dunning One-Day Tournament campaign in Taupo,  hoping for a solid bowling and fielding effort against Bay of Plenty.
Bay of Plenty batted first in game two of the tournament yesterday  and Northland's bowlers did well to restrict the opening batsmen to a handful of runs.
Skipper Llorne Howell was run out for  14, while Ben Christensen, who  received a late call-up to the Bay  side, scored 11  before  Jamie Kay bowled him.
Kay  impressed with the ball throughout,  taking three for 15  in  five overs.
It was left up to Bay of Plenty's lower-ranked batsmen to get runs   after their middle order crumbled.
Daniel Hill top-scored for Bay of Plenty with 35, and Steven Rae  scored 29 not out, while Te Ahu Davis and Bharat Popli  had 19 each.
Northland had Bay of Plenty all out for 172 in 48 overs and needed to step up with the bat to improve on their  effort against Waikato Valley on Sunday.
Openers Andy McDowell and Rory Darkins scored 20 and 14 respectively and were bowled by Steven Rae, who took four for 27.
Chris Page was the best with the bat, hitting 43 before he was dismissed by Trembath, who took two for 16 in his 5.4 overs.
Northland struggled to reach the target and Bay of Plenty had them all out for 151 after 42.4 overs.
There was  improvement, but it was not enough, and Northland will  seek a win against Poverty  Bay today  in their final one-day game of the tournament.