Cricket: Bay of Plenty school teams named for Northern Districts tournament

Tauranga Boys' wicketkeeper Ben Pomare is in a strong Bay of Plenty Coastland side. Photo / File

Defending champions Bay of Plenty Coastland will start as top contenders in the Northern Districts Senior Secondary Cricket tournament being played in Gisborne this week.

Bay of Plenty Lakeland also finished in the championship division last season, where they were beaten by Northland in the battle for third place after grabbing first-innings points in the top-four playoff.

The strength of the Bay of Plenty Coastland challenge for the tournament title is their depth of talent with Josh Earle, Marcel Collett, Dominic Crombie, Craig Baldry, Fergus Lellman, Cam Riley, Rhys Mischewski, Iman Singh and Ben Pomare all having played for the Bay of Development team in the last month.

Bay of Plenty Coastland: Mikaere Leef (C) Marcel Collett, Sean Dykes, Fergus Lellman, Ben Pomare, Josh Earle, Daniel Price, Dominic Crombie, Iman Singh, Cameron Riley, Craig Baldry, Rhys Mischewski. Coach: Peter Swan, Manager: Steve Wineti

Bay of Plenty Lakeland: Louie Love-Parata (Taupo) Tu Winsor, Ryan Neves, Juan Nieuwoudt, Bradley Wiggins, Connor Scott-Moore, Josh Simpson, Cameron Ingram (Rotorua) Shannon van Niekerk, Daniel Ford, Jarrod Mealings, Chris Tupea (Eastern Bay of Plenty). Coach: Manny Kumar

Northern Districts Invitational XI: Tauranga players Taylor Bettelheim, Rhys Donaghy, Louis Robinson, Tim Pringle.

ND Knights are holding a family day at the Bay Oval on Tuesday.

The Knights will be in town to prepare and train for the two Burger King Super Smash games to hit the Bay Oval on December 16 and 27 under the new lights.

There will be spot prizes, a fun skills training session and the opportunity to get an autograph or photo with the Knights.

All cricket fans are welcome, so just turn up prior to the 3.30pm start to enjoy the fun.