Cricket: Northland Juniors lose in thriller with Coastlands

Bella Homes Northland batsman Cam Gordon gets forward at the Northern Districts Junior Secondary Boys tournament.

Bella Homes Northland have gone down in a last-wicket thriller to Bay of Plenty Coastlands in the latest round of the Northern Districts Junior Secondary Boys tournament.

Northland won the toss and elected to bat at Cobham Oval, but were under early pressure when opener Luke Trigg was removed for four with just nine runs on the board.

Kian Bird (10) and Cam Gordon (10) consolidated but both fell victim to the leg-spin of Coastlands' Finn Dempsey (3 for 23).

Alex Gordon, Cam's non-identical twin brother, joined Sam Webb with the score at 42 for 3, and managed to put on a 48-run partnership in good time.

Gordon then became the first of right-arm swing bowler James Gatenby-Hinton's four scalps when he was caught out on 22.

That wicket proved to be a catalyst for Coastlands as they took the last six wickets for 43 runs.

Once Gatenby-Hinton (4 for 18) took the last wicket, Northland were all out for 133.

Bella Homes Northland's Alex Gordon plays under the watchful eyes of the Bay of Plenty Coastlands wicket-keeper and first slip. Photo/John Stone

Coastlands were anchored by opener Timothy Pringle's 49, but at the other end Northland were wreaking havoc, mainly through Nathan Parkes (3 for 23).

Northland also picked up a pair of run outs, including the key man in Pringle. And when Parkes returned to trap Hunter Dickson in front, it left Coastlands at 94 for 6, still needing 40 for the win.

Dempsey and Carson Wills came together and put on an vital 32-run stand and when Dempsey departed for 20, Coastlands only needed eight runs to win from just under six overs.

But Northland made it tough for them, nabbing two more wickets through Alex Gordon (2 for 17) and Webb (1 for 16), but it wasn't quite enough as Coastlands snuck home in the penultimate over for the one-wicket victory.

Meanwhile in their second T20 on the opening day, Northland picked up a win in a rain-affected game against Waikato Valley.

Waikato Valley batted first and struggled on the low bouncing Kensington Park pitch that Northland took full toll on, eventually all out for 51. Parkes (3 for 10) was the pick of the bowlers.

After starting their chase solidly, Northland lost four wickets while the score was on 16 to leave them behind the required Duckworth-Lewis score.

But they battled valiantly through good bowling and the poor weather to finish on 42 for 5, enough to secure the win.

*Correction: Cale Pooley was incorrectly reported as Caleb Pooley in Tuesday's story "Juniors fire tournament warning".