Rain ruins cup run

Northland has essentially lost any chance of gaining a Hawke Cup challenge in a shady run of events.

The top representative cricket side was meant to travel to Hamilton yesterday to play the first day of their two-day match today. But, due to poor weather - and a poor pitch - the match has had to be shortened to one-day and played with two-day rules.

Northland coach Stephen Cunis is gutted at the way the campaign has finished, adding that as a result Hamilton now get the challenge.

"We needed to get a win to have a shot but we've got a good team so there was a chance. The chance of an outright [win in one day is] one in 1000 really, which is a bit of a joke really.

"It would have been a magic game if we did that but one day means we can't do that and now our focus shifts to trying to win the Fergus Hickey.

"If we played better against poverty Bay or against Waikato Valley, at the end of last season, we would have picked up a few points and we would have got [the challenge]. [But, now] Hamilton get the shot. It's worked out nicely for them."

Cunis says a lot should and could be done to structure the region's representative competition.

He thinks every team should be playing each other once in a two-day game rather than mixing points from two-day and one-day games.