• Women’s Hallyburton Johnstone Shield begins this Saturday

Last summer’s Plunket Shield runner-up is off to a strong fresh start in the new season of the national men’s first-class cricket championship.

As the only team to collect the maximum 20 points from this week’s opening round, Northern Districts has the early competition edge heading into next week’s second-round fixtures in Hamilton (where they will host another first-round winner, the Auckland Aces), Nelson (home team the Central Stags v Canterbury) and Dunedin (Otago Volts v Wellington Firebirds).

ND finished just five points short of lifting the historic silver trophy last season, the team hungering for glory after having last lifted the title way back in 2011/12 season.

Earlier today, they took a seven-wicket win off a strong Canterbury side at Hagley Oval to kickstart their new campaign, captain Jeet Raval leading the way with a top score of 93 in the successful chase.

Raval had solid support from red-ball run machine Bharat Popli (74) in a 172-run second-wicket partnership – the methodical Popli being one of few players in recent decades to have scored 1000 runs in a New Zealand first-class season.

Raval is now in the frame for achieving his own, relatively uncommon milestone of 10,000 first-class career runs, if he can emulate that golden summer of Popli’s a decade ago.

Currently the 36-year-old skipper has 9,425 runs (all teams) from 149 first-class matches, at an average better than his age.

Yesterday, the Central Stags wrapped up a scrappy eight-wicket win with a day to spare against the Otago Volts and now get nudged down to second spot on the ladder, having earned 19 points from their victory.

The Aces sit in third place with 16 points from their hard-fought victory against the Wellington Firebirds at the Cello Basin Reserve, a decision to bat first paying rare dividends at the capital ground.

All of next week’s second-round fixtures will begin at 10.30am (weather permitting) on Tuesday, 19 November, with livescores and free livestreams on NZC platforms as usual.

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In the interim, the women’s NZC Domestic summer will open this Saturday with the first round of the one-day Hallyburton Johnstone Shield coming up at the Cello Basin Reserve (Wellington Blaze v Central Hinds), Mt Maunganui’s Bay Oval (Northern Districts v Auckland Hearts) and Rangiora’s Mainpower Oval (Canterbury hosting the defending title-holders, the Otago Sparks) this Saturday.

The opening round is followed by Round Two at the same venues on Sunday and represents a chance to see many of the ICC T20 World Cup-winning WHITE FERNS in action for their Domestic teams, with free admission and well as free livestreams of all games.

The squads for the first weekend of action will be named by the six Major Associations by midday on Friday.