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Plunket Shield

Countries	New Zealand
Administrator	New Zealand Cricket
Format	First-class cricket
First tournament	1906–07
Tournament format	Round-robin
Number of teams	6
Current champion	Central Stags
Most runs	Craig Cumming (6,589)
Most wickets	Stephen Boock (399)

The Plunket Shield

New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield.^[1]

History

The competition was instigated in October 1906 with the donation of a shield by William Plunket, 5th Baron Plunket, the Governor-General of New Zealand. For the 1906-07 inaugural season, the Shield was allotted by the New Zealand Cricket Council "to the Association whose representative team it considers to have the best record for the season".^[2] After the Council awarded the Shield to Canterbury, chiefly because Canterbury were the only provincial team to beat the visiting MCC, Auckland representatives complained that Auckland should have received the Shield as their team was superior but had not had the chance to prove it as none of the other provincial teams had played Auckland during the season.^[3]

Beginning with the 1907-08 season, the competition was decided by challenge matches among Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago and, on two occasions, Hawke's Bay. Auckland defeated Canterbury by an innings in the first challenge match in December 1907.^[4]

A proposal in 1912 that the Shield should be decided by an inter-provincial tournament rather than by the challenge system was rejected as impracticable at the time.^[5] However, starting with the 1921–22 season, the four principal teams (minus Hawke's Bay, which lost first-class status) played each other in a single round-robin series of matches. Central Districts entered the competition in 1950–51, and Northern Districts in 1956–57.

Shell Trophy

Shell Oil became principal sponsor in 1974–75 and a new trophy was introduced. Games were played over three days during this period, with an over-limit on the first innings. In latter years the format was experimented with, introducing a shorter second round, various bonus points systems, and eventually a knockout final.

State Championship

The format and the principal sponsor were changed in 2001–02 season. State Insurance (more commonly just called 'State') replaced Shell Oil. The competitions were renamed to reflect the new sponsor's name, so despite the fact that New Zealand does not have political 'states', the correct name for the first class cricket competition was the 'State Championship'.

Between November and early April, each of the provincial teams play in a one round round-robin series of 4-day matches against every other team. With a target of 112 overs (6.5 hours) daily play, games are only marginally shorter than a typical test match (90 overs/day). Points are awarded based on the results of the matches, and after each team has played each other once, the two highest ranked teams play a 5-day final, in early April.

A limited 50 over competition known as the State Shield was run from late December to the end of January, culminating with a semifinal (2v3) and final (the semifinal winner against the top qualifier) early in February.

In 2006, a provincial Twenty20 competition was begun, and was played over one month during February and into early March each year. The top two sides qualified for that final. It was called the State Twenty20.

Plunket Shield reinstated

With State Insurance withdrawing from their sponsorship, the Plunket Shield was reinstated for the 2009–10 season. New Zealand Cricket has stated that the naming rights are no longer for sale and that the name Plunket Shield will remain.^[6] The final has also been abolished, meaning that the champion of the competition will be determined by the points leader at the end of the double round robin.

Teams

Points system

Points are awarded at the conclusion of each match during the season. With no final, the team with the most points is declared the champion. The points system for the 2011/12 season is as follows

• Won: 12 points


• Lost: 0 points


• Draw: 0 points


• Tie: 6 points


• One-innings match won (match that started with 10 hours or less playing time remaining): 6 points


• One-innings match tie: 3 points


• Abandoned (without a ball bowled) / No result (drawn one-innings match): 2 points


• Batting points: First Innings only up to 110 overs – first point at 250 runs, second point at 300 runs, third point at 350 runs, fourth point at 400 runs


• Bowling points: First Innings only up to 110 overs – first point at 3 wickets, second point at 5 wickets, third point at 7 wickets, fourth point at 9 wickets

Winners

The holders of the shield during its "challenge match" period to 1921 were:

From the 1921–22 season the competition has been run on a round robin format.

References

External links

• 
  Photograph of the Plunket Shield at Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
  


• 
  Plunket Shield at New Zealand Cricket