An improved performance saw Northland's cricketers comfortably notch up their first win at the Brian Dunning one-day tournament in Taupo yesterday, with a five-wicket win over Poverty Bay.
It was a much-needed win for the highly rated Northland side after they were upset by Bay of Plenty in the first matchof the three-day tournament on Sunday.
Unlike that match, Northland skipper Brett Hood won the toss and put Poverty Bay into bat and the side's bowling performance set up the win.
Jake Phillips led the way with the ball taking 2-10 from his 10 overs including the wicket of Josh Bates who threatened to launch a comeback at first drop after the openers had been removed early by the other main wicket-takers Kevin Forde (2-21) and Ewen Thompson (2-32).
Poverty Bay managed a middle order revival but better bowling and some sharp fielding saw them limited to 171-8 in their 50 overs.
An opening partnership of 122 between Richard Aktins (77) and Rhys Farrand (31), took the game away from Poverty Bay. Atkins top-scored on Sunday at No8 and was promoted to open yesterday, again showing his good form by scoring quickly, notching up nine fours in his innings.
Player coach Thompson said: "Richard did an excellent job, I'm big on rewarding guys who do well, and he didn't let us down, he had a bit more time to settle in before he started playing his shots," he said.
Northland play Waikato Valley in their final match today.
