Any lingering disappointment some of the Northland under-17 cricketers may have felt in not achieving Northern Districts supremacy disappeared yesterday when four were named in the Northland second XI to play Hamilton on Sunday.
Todd Beehre, Curtis Cherrington and Dexter Buchanan will all make their debut in the game at Kaipara
Flats, with Rory Darkins making a second appearance, after playing for the second XI when they beat Bay of Plenty in a 50-over match last month.
The Northland juniors were the form team at the week-long championships in Gisborne this week but fell at the final hurdle against Counties in the two-day final, coming up short while chasing 371 to win, despite an opening stand of 196 between Beehre and Darkins.
"The (team's) performance at Poverty Bay was outstanding. Curtis and Todd did very well with the bat and Dexter did well with the ball, so it was the right time to have a look at them and how they perform at this level," selector Graham Barlow said.
"There's the expectation that these guys will be stepping up to the senior side in a year or two and hopefully go onto greater things," Barlow added.
In addition, three of the team's players - Darkins, Cherrington and Beehre - were named in the ND under-17 team for the national tournament in Napier in January. This won't have come as a surprise to Darkins, who is the ND side's captain, nor to Cherrington, who was in the team last year, but Beehre was a bolter, while Buchanan and a couple of other Northlanders can't have been far off selection.
Barlow has picked a youthful team based on form, with Dean Child's return to rep cricket an exception to that rule.
"Dean's had a very good season so far and he's a left-handed opener, so he's got a lot going for him and we need to have a look at him ... "
Zimbabwean professional Terry Duffin is the other experienced head in the team. Kaipara's Kyron Dill still hasn't recovered from a shoulder injury and wasn't considered.
City club players were also not considered, as they take on Counties side Karaka at Cobham Oval on Sunday, aiming to qualify for the national club championship.
Northland B: Terry Duffin (captain/coach), Dean Child, Harry Darkins, Curtis Cherrington, Todd Beehre, Jamie Kay, Nick Breslin, Rory Darkins, Sean Doel, Matthew Taylor, Josh Ashley, Dexter Buchanan.
