Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

The opportunity to get some early season red ball cricket under their belt has seen the ND Plunket Shield side, who meet Canterbury this week, include a full complement of their Black Cap squad members.

With the history breaking Bay Oval test match with England less than a month away, Northern Districts will field an extremely strong combination, including Bay of Plenty origin Black Caps in Kane Williamson and Trent Boult, in the first Plunket Shield game of the season.

The Plunket Shield has been restored to its former glory in recent times as the prize of the countries four-day cricket championship.

The Plunket Shield was presented to the New Zealand Cricket Association by Lord Plunket in 1906 and for many years, the Plunket Shield dominated major association cricket in the country.

Up until the emergence of one-day cricket in the early 1970's, major associations played a series of Plunket Shield games, with provincial players returning to club cricket in between their provincial obligations.

Before the establishment of Northern Districts Cricket in the 1955/56 season, Bay of Plenty players first class opportunities were few and far between, with the only avenue being to earn selection in the Auckland Plunket Shield teams of the time.

The advent of major association professional cricket and the introduction of the smash and bash of the Twenty 20 game, has opened the opportunities for Bay of Plenty players to make the step up to professional cricket.

The current professional game has brought specialisation, with players building upon their strengths with coaches and team management, to focus on the different requirements of the three forms of the game.

Two local Northern Knights, who won't be in action in the first Plunket Shield match at the Hagley Oval in Canterbury, have warmed up for their season long ND campaigns by turning out for their Western Bay of Plenty premier club sides, in the first three rounds of the Bay of Plenty Cup.

Greerton batsman Brett Hampton, known to all in cricket as 'Hammer', has started his season at a furious pace by living up to his nickname, as he has blasted his way to a amazing turn at bat in round two.

Coming in at four against multiple Baywide champions Otumoetai Cadets, Hampton took aim on the boundary ropes to blast 119 off just 48 balls, in a whirlwind innings that produced sixteen 6's.

Last weekend, Joe Carter anchored Cadets as they chased down a big target set by Rotorua's Central Indians on the artificial surface at Mitchell Park.

Carter batted a patient innings to top score with 89 off 94 balls, leaving his teammates just 30 odd runs short of their target of 227, when he departed.

The seamless transition of ND players, who often receive short releases to bolster the fortunes of their clubs throughout the season, plays a major role in keeping the campaign squad freshened up and ready to re-engage in major association battles when they return.

Stop Press: News has just been received that Brett Hampton has been called up for duty, in a New Zealand XI to play England in a Twenty 20 match, in Canterbury next Sunday (27 October 2019).