PIVOTAL PLUNKET SHIELD ROUND BEGINS
• Big weekend of red-ball cricket:
Zone 4 Challenger South Canterbury attempts to prise Hawke Cup off Taranaki
• Plunket Shield free livestreams & livescores for all matches available here
• Hawke Cup livescores available here
• Hawke Cup free livestream available here
A top-of-the-table clash in the penultimate round of the national Plunket Shield championship could see defending champion the Wellington Firebirds put one hand on the trophy, after captain Tom Blundell won the toss and bowled this morning at the Cello Basin Reserve.
The Firebirds head into the key match holding a five-point lead over opponent and closest rival Northern Districts, with a maximum of 20 points up for grabs over the next four days — including eight first innings bonus points that both sides are able to collect if they meet the specified batting and bowling targets during their first innings.
None of the six teams is formally out of contention with two rounds to go, but the top and mid-table matches at the Basin and Hagley Oval respectively are key as a cluster of BLACKCAPS return to give their Domestic sides a late push.
Allrounder Nathan Smith (Firebirds) goes head-to-head with Northern’s Neil Wagner while in Christchurch, Will Young makes his first first-class appearance for the Central Stags this season and Tom Latham comes in for Canterbury – whose captain, Cole McConchie, has sent the Stags in.
Former leader Canterbury and the injury-hit Stags are in third and fourth spot respectively, but can still push back into the top two, pending other results. The Otago Volts and Auckland Aces meanwhile duel in the bottom-of-the-table fixture at Dunedin’s University of Otago Oval where ground conditions have delayed the start by 45 minutes and Volts captain Dean Foxcroft elected to bat.
At New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park, Taranaki is endeavouring to extend their run of successful Defences to three, in order to lock away the Hawke Cup for the winter as the final Challenge Match of the season begins.
After a half-hour ground delay, Zone 4 Challenger South Canterbury’s captain Jake Naylor won the toss and elected to bat first, with the winner (outright or on the first innings) over the next three days to hold on to the storied piece of century-old silverware until next season.
RECENT CHAMPIONS
2023/24 Wellington Firebirds
2022/23 Central Stags
2021/22 Auckland Aces
2020/21 Canterbury
2019/20 Wellington Firebirds
2018/19 Central Stags
2017/18 Central Stags
2016/17 Canterbury
2015/16 Auckland Aces
2014/15 Canterbury
2013/14 Canterbury
2012/13 Central Stags
2011/12 Northern Districts
2010/11 Canterbury
2009/10 Northern Districts
• Plunket Shield Competition Centre with detailed player statistics and full Points Table
Note: Bonus points are added to the online table only at the completion of a match
Official Photographer: www.photosport.nz
Official hashtag: #plunketshield
Guide to Team Names — NZC Domestic Cricket (men’s)
Plunket Shield | The Ford Trophy Super Smash
Canterbury Canterbury Kings
Northern Districts Northern Brave
Central Stags Central Stags
Wellington Firebirds Wellington Firebirds
Auckland Aces Auckland Aces
Otago Volts Otago Volts
