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

There are few more picturesque cricket grounds in the country than the Tauranga Domain number two field.

With plenty of trees providing spectators with shade and a view over the hedge of the inner harbour, it is of postcard quality.

Last weekend, it played host to a Northern Districts Cricket Fergus Hickey Rosebowl two-day game, which turned into a high scoring thriller late on day two.

In recent times, two day cricket has fallen victim to the advance of the T20 game, which is a real shame, as the two-day game gives teams time to build big innings and vary bowling options.

The Bay of Plenty side posted two significant milestones as they prepared to enter the combat zone.

Bay of Plenty all-rounder Peter Drysdale took over the record of the most Bay of Plenty representative games, of 106 matches, after sharing the record with Bay cricket legend Derek Beard.

In addition, Black Cap bowler Neil Wagner became Bay of Plenty representative player number 552, when he walked out onto the field at the Tauranga Domain.

Northland, who were making their two yearly excursion to the Bay of Plenty, elected to bat after winning the toss.

The opening day belonged to Northland, who batted all day and were in a very strong position at 302 for the loss of eight wickets.

The Northland hero was long-serving top order batsman Henry Cooper, who belted 114 runs, before being caught by Taylor Bettelheim from the bowling of Chris Atkinson.

More misery continued for the BOP boys early on day two, with the opposition tail wagging before they were finally dispatched for 350.

The momentum was firmly in the Northland camp, as the Bay of Plenty openers went out to bat, with Northland eying a outright victory.

With Bay of Plenty at 100 runs for the loss of three wickets, the visitors were still firmly in control.

Enter Black Cap Dean Brownlie and ND professional all-rounder Brett Hampton, who put Bay of Plenty back on track.

A 142 run partnership, which saw both Brownlie and Hampton dismissed with 94 runs in the scorebook, put the BOP right back in contention for first innings points.

It was left to Brett Hampton and New Zealand Under 19 wicket keeper Ben Pomare to take the game away from the visitors.

Their 78 run partnership put the Bay of Plenty First XI in a winning position.

After the removal of Hampton, Pomare anchored his sides first innings points in the Fergus Hickey standings, with a almost flawless 77 runs from 86 balls which contained nine 4's and three big heaves over the boundary.

It was left to Neil Wagner (11no) and Dominic Crombie (0no) to get the Bay of Plenty representatives over the line.

The Bay of Plenty team continues on to face a busy Northern Districts minor association representative program, which includes the ND T20 tournament in early December, where they will meet Northland, Counties Manukau, Hamilton, Waikato Valley and Poverty Bay in three days of T20 action.

Bay of Plenty has a proud history in the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl competition, winning the prestigious trophy on 16 occasions since their first success in 1980.

With the first hurdle of Northland successfully completed, the BOP side will target victories against Hamilton, Waikato Valley and Counties Manukau in the second half of the current season, to bring the Fergus Hickey prize back to the BOP for the 17th time.