Cricket: Northern Spirit in gallant comeback

The Northern Districts women's team, the Northern Spirit, this weekend played three matches at Cobham Oval as they kicked off their season against last year's Twenty20 winners the Canterbury Magicians.

The Northern Spirit lost the opening Twenty20 on Friday by 19 runs and again lost on Saturday in a 50-over one-day game by 87 runs.

However, the Spirit turned around that heavy defeat to come out on top yesterday by 84 runs. Coach Owen Steverson said Whangarei played a great host to his team and it was encouraging to see the Northland Secondary Schools girls' team training in the nets with coach Karl Trieber.

"It's a great place to play and it's a beautiful ground, the girls enjoyed playing here and the lunches were amazing," said Steverson.

He hopes the visit will encourage some Northland girls to really get involved in the sport and make the most of the opportunities that the sport brings.

"In terms of women's cricket there are some great opportunities in the game.

"There are some good opportunities within tours and New Zealand Cricket strives to grow the women's game," Steverson said.