Cricket: Bay of Plenty Development team in action this weekend

Tauranga Boys' College all-rounder Dominic Crombie took a hat-trick in his last Bay of Plenty Development game. Photo / File

Two completed rounds and a washed out round three of the Northern Districts Development competition sees the Basil McBurney Trophy well and truly up for grabs with two rounds remaining.

Bay of Plenty enter tomorrow'sgame, with Northland in Whangarei, on equal points with Counties Manukau, Northland and Waikato Valley having posted a win and a loss in their first two matches.

Bay of Plenty coach Russell Williams said the side would be hungry for victory in the far north after being beaten by Waikato Valley in their last completed competition match.

"We talked about the work necessary to win the competition after an extremely narrow loss to Hawke's Bay in a 'friendly' encounter a couple of weeks ago.

"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 more than 500 runs in the three Baywide games this season and likes nothing better than to take aim at the boundary ropes.

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 five wickets for 46 runs.

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 hat-trick in his tally of three wickets for 33 runs.

Northern Districts Development Competition 2017/18
Bay of Plenty Development v Northland in Whangarei, Sunday

Bay of Plenty Team
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.