Bay of Plenty cricket fans are not only counting down the days to Christmas but also the sleeps to the three Ford Trophy matches to be played at Bay Oval next month.
The 50-over competition has flagged in recent years due to the relative popularity of Twenty20 cricket, but there will be no shortage of interest in Mount Maunganui in the coming weeks due to the large number of Bay of Plenty players likely to don Northern Knights colours.
While Bay of Plenty Black Caps Kane Williamson, Trent Boult and Corey Anderson will be unavailable due to national commitments, up to half a dozen Bay players could wear the Knights colours in front of friends and family.
Knights skipper Daniel Flynn and Graeme Aldridge are tried and tested at this level - Aldridge first made his debut for the Knights back in the 1998/99 season - but it is the cast of young faces that will draw much of the attention.