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

Defined sporting seasons – when winter and summer sports had specific seasonal boundaries –are well and truly gone.

A good example of the crossover is provided in the Western Bay of Plenty this weekend.

The mighty Steamers will play their first NPC home game at the Baypark, while the White Ferns walk onto the Bay Oval for a preparatory game before embarking on their cricket tour of the Caribbean.

The development of the Bay Oval at Blake Park during the last decade has given New Zealand its first grass winter training wicket block.

Coupled with the grass nets, it gives the opportunity for outdoor training year-round. During winter months, the Bay of Plenty Black Caps used the grass nets as they came and went with their international assignments.

The Bay Oval has become a launching pad for the National T20 titleholders before meeting the world's best at the annual Champions League tournament.

Two years ago the Auckland Aces set the platform for using the Bay Oval prior to departure to the Champions League.

The Aces became the first New Zealand side to progress to the main draw from the qualifiers, with team management praising the Bay Oval, which allowed much-needed practice matches prior to departure for the International T20 tournament.

Last season the Otago Volts repeated Auckland's feat by also reaching the main draw, after grass wicket preparations at Bay Oval.

Our ‘own' Northern Knights are New Zealand's representatives at this year's at the Champions League, which kicks off on September 13.

The Knights take on the Sri Lankan representatives in the first game of the tournament.

Coached by Western Bay resident James Pamment, the Northern Districts side is making use of the Bay Oval as they prepare to depart for the Indian tournament.

The White Ferns visit this weekend also gives some of the future stars of Bay cricket opportunity to play six weeks before the club season kicks off.

A Bay of Plenty Invitation X1, which includes a number of the best secondary school players from last season, is likely to give the White Ferns a solid workout.

Much success of the Bay X1 in the last few years, where they have annexed the long-time NZ Cricket Hawke Cup and the ND prize of the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl, is due to the pathway provided by Bay of Plenty Cricket from secondary school cricket to senior representative cricket.

A good example of the ‘schools to senior cricket' pathway is the captain of this weekend's Invitation X1, Ben Musgrave, who stands on the brink of a future that could include a professional cricket career.

Ben gave an early indication of his potential when he blasted a century for the Bay Development team, while still a Tauranga Boys' College student.

Excellent Baywide form resulted in Ben playing five matches for the Bay senior men's team in the second half of the representative season, where he posted a top score of 37 no.

Ben will have to look no further than a fellow Bay teammate for motivation.

Last year dashing Bay of Plenty batsmen Tom MacRury blasted 526 runs with a top score of 145 no, after making his debut in the Bay first X1 the previous season from the Tauranga Boys' College player ranks.