A trip to the far north of New Zealand marks the opening of the Bay of Plenty senior men's 2017/18 ND Fergus Hickey Rosebowl campaign.
The Bay of Plenty representatives take on Northland at Cobham Oval in Whangarei this Saturday and Sunday in their first two-day encounter of the season.
The Bay side enter the competition as champions. They have won 16 Fergus Hickey crowns since the 1979/80 season and their domination of the ND premier championship in recent years is represented by four titles in the past six seasons.
The Bay of Plenty selectors have gone for a team which includes players experienced in the rigours of minor association representative cricket. Their top order will see captain Peter Drysdale open with Tom MacRury, with Joe Carter and Sean Davey, who own nine Bay of Plenty centuries between them, likely to bat at three and four.
"Our middle order batsmen Ben Musgrave and Tim Clarke would bat in the top four of most provincial sides in the country, which shows the depth we have in our batting line-up," head coach Charles Williams said.