Cricket: Runs galore expected at Mount Oval

Northern Knights and Bay of Plenty seamer Graham Aldridge bowls against Wellington Firebirds at Bay Oval on New Year's Day.

Fancy a free day's cricket in the sun today?

Then Mount Maunganui's highly regarded Bay Oval is the place to be for the deciding Ford Trophy 50-over match between the Northern Knights and second-placed Auckland Aces starting at 11am.

The match is particularly important to the fourth-placed Knights who must win to have any hope of making Saturday's qualifying finals. Last Sunday the Knights and Aces played out a one-day classic at Eden Park with the Aces winning off the last ball to pass the Knights score of 300.

Northern Districts chief executive Peter Roach says the Western Bay public has supported the two Knights games well that were played earlier this month at Bay Oval so decided to open the gates for today's crucial clash.

"Those who have come before will come again and maybe those who have not been will come along and enjoy the day," Roach said. "Everything has been really good with the games played there, it is a terrific ground. You always like more of course and we still probably have to learn how to tap into that holiday market.

"Our figures are showing it is more local people supporting those games so that's our challenge."

Roach is disappointed the plan to allow spectators to bring their own alcohol into Bay Oval has not been allowed to go ahead.

"With a little bit more time we may have been able to come to an agreement with the Police potentially to have some sort of trial put in place," he said. "But we will keep talking to them over the next winter period and see if we can put something in place for next year."

Spectators can expect plenty of runs from the excellent Bay Oval pitch today.

The two Ford Trophy games this month saw the Knights make 263-6 to beat the Firebirds (240) and then in a real run feast the Knights scored 308-8 against the Otago Volts who scored 309-5 to win a last over thriller.

While Wednesday's game will end the three match Ford Trophy series at the Bay Oval, there is international women's cricket and the inaugural Plunket Shield (four-day) game to come before the end of the season. In February the White Ferns will play the England women's side three times with the Plunket Shield match between Northern Districts and Canterbury starting on April 1.