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

Sideline Sid caught the last few overs of the Plunket Shield match between the Northern Knights and Canterbury at the Bay Oval on Easter Friday. While the match was scheduled for four days, it actually finished in just two-and-half.

Unlike one-day cricket and the smash and bash of T20, first class cricket between the six NZ Cricket Major Associations is often about tactics that see declarations of innings in order to take maximum points.

Such was the case in the game at the Bay Oval, with both sides having a chance to win the Plunket Shield in the first past the post competition.

Both teams declared in their first turn at bat, however the collapse of the Knight's second innings resulted in the Canterbury side chasing a modest target to win one of the oldest cricket trophies in the country.

At the end of the match, one of the most loyal servants of the game in recent decades packed his kit up for the last time. Long-time ND and Bay of Plenty player Graeme Aldridge announced his retirement from representative cricket after a long and distinguished career.

Universally known to all as G, the former Otumoetai College student reached the pinnacle of his career in the 2011/12 season, when he earned selection for the Black Caps' tour of Zimbabwe.

During his long career he was an automatic first pick for the Northern Knights and Bay of Plenty (when available) and also earned selection for New Zealand A, NZ Cricket Major Associations and the North Island.

An indication of the longevity of the Northern Knights all-rounder comes in the fact that you have to go back to February 1989 to find his first class debut for ND against Wellington.

Such has been his impact on New Zealand Domestic Cricket that Graeme has retired as the all-time best ND first-class wicket-taker, with an amazing 364 bowling scalps. He was also a more than useful batsman, with 2339 runs to his name in 123 first class encounters.

In addition he took a myriad of wickets and blasted a truckload of runs in the many one-day and T20 matches he played in the Northern Knights uniform.

An extremely focused, professional and respectful sportsman, Graeme liked nothing more than to turn out for the Bay of Plenty senior men's team, when his other cricket commitments allowed it.

He made his Bay of Plenty debut in auspicious circumstances, during March 1997, in a Hawke Cup defence against Central Otago at Blake Park. The Bay side posted 553/9, with Simon Winter top scoring with a (then) record 181 runs, while Graeme posted 52 runs batting at nine.

During his 45 games in the Blue and Gold uniform, Graeme blasted 975 runs and grabbed 123 wickets, in a career that stretched from 1997 to last season.

Individual Bay of Plenty highlights included a highest score of 137 not-out with best bowling figures of 8/29 against ND heavyweights Hamilton. On three occasions he took ten wickets in a match.

While the name of GW Aldridge will be missing from future first class cricket reports, he is sure to retain a genuine interest in the game that he loves with a passion and will surely surface in another role in cricket in the future.