With two completed rounds and one washed out the ND Development Basil McBurney Trophy is well and truly up for grabs with two rounds remaining.
Bay of Plenty enter tomorrow's game with Northland in Whangarei on equal points with Counties Manukau, Northland and Waikato Valley, with the Bay side postinga win and a loss in the first two matches.
"Our boys will be hungry for victory in the Far North after being beaten by Waikato Valley in our last completed competition match. We talked about the work necessary to win the competition after an extremely narrow loss to Hawkes Bay in a friendly encounter a couple of weeks ago," Bay of Plenty coach Russell Williams said.
"Our next two matches are must-win games and we will be travelling to Northland to do everything to make that happen. We are going to Whangarei with winning the competition firmly on our agenda."
Two Bay Development team members have been in red-hot form in Baywide premier cricket this season. Te Puke batsman Stephen Crossan has blasted over 500 runs in the three Baywide competitions this season. Greerton leg-spinner James Boyd leads the way in the Williams Cup bowling stakes with 10 wickets and has the best bowling figures in the competition of 5-46.
Another Bay of Plenty player to impress is Dominic Crombie. In the first Basil McBurney game of the season against Hamilton, the Tauranga Boys' all-rounder top-scored with an unbeaten 53 and then took a rare as hen's teeth hat-trick in his tally of 3-33.
Bay of Plenty Development team v Northland, Whangarei, Sunday Matt Golding (captain), Fergus Lellman, Stephen Crossan, Blair McKenzie, Ben Pomare, Ruben Clinton, Dominic Crombie, Christian MacDonald, Cameron Riley, James Boyd, Iman Singh, Brody Gilroy. Coach Russell Williams, manager Shaun Riley.
Basil McBurney Trophy points table (after three rounds) Northland 4, Counties Manukau 4, Bay of Plenty 4, Waikato Valley 4, Hamilton 0.
