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The return of a Black Cap and a notable player milestone highlight the selection of the Bay of Plenty senior men’s team to play Waikato Valley at Mount Maunganui on Sunday.
Black Cap bowler Trent Boult will be making a rare appearance in the Bay of Plenty side, which will play in the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl one-day encounter.
Since making his Bay debut in the 2006/07 season, Northern Knights appearances have restricted Trent to just nine games in the Bay of Plenty uniform.
At the other end of the Bay appearance spectrum, Mathew Drake will bring up his 50th game for Bay of Plenty when he walks out on to the BOP Cricket Oval at Blake Park on Sunday.
Since making his debut for the Bay XI seasons ago, Matthew has posted 1185 runs with a highest score of 106.
One of the young guns of the Bay side is Bharat Popli, who jointly holds the record for most Bay of Plenty centuries (four), after just 23 games in Bay of Plenty colours.
The talented batsman should bring up an individual milestone against Waikato Valley, requiring just 12 runs to score a thousand runs for his province.
The defeat of Counties Manukau in the previous round of the Fergus Hickey competition has put Bay of Plenty right back in the hunt for season honours.
The Bay is currently sitting four points behind Counties and trail Hamilton by a solitary point.
Also at stake against Waikato Valley are Northern Districts Hawke Cup qualifying points.
Unlike the majority of cricket competitions, the ND Hawke Cup points are contested over a calendar year.
The ND winner goes on to represent the association in a direct Hawke Cup challenge early the following year.
Bay of Plenty Team v Waikato Valley
Jono Boult (captain) Peter Drysdale, Mathew Drake, Joe Carter, Bharat Popli, Ben Christensen, Tim Clarke, Brett Hampton, Dale Swan, Tony Goodin, Amandeep Singh, Trent Boult.
Fergus Hickey Points
Counties Manukau 20, Hamilton 17, BOP 16, Northland 9, Waikato Valley 8, Poverty Bay 4.
