The 2018–19 Plunket Shield was the 90th season of the Plunket Shield, the domestic first-class cricket competition in New Zealand. It took place between October 2018 and March 2019. Unlike the previous edition of the competition, the tournament featured eight rounds of matches, instead of ten.[1][2][3] Central Districts were the defending champions.[4] Up to eleven international players, including New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson, were available for the opening round of the tournament.[5]
| Dates | 10 October 2018 – 20 March 2019 |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | First-class |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin |
| Champions | Central Districts (11th title) |
| Participants | 6 |
| Matches | 24 |
| Most runs | Devon Conway (659) |
| Most wickets | Ish Sodhi (36) |
In the opening round of fixtures, in the match between Central Districts and Canterbury, both teams declared one of their innings for no runs, in a rain-affected match, to ensure that a result was possible.[6][7] The same situation also happened in round seven of the tournament, with Auckland declaring their first innings for no runs and Canterbury declaring their innings on 22/2 to get a result.[8]
Ahead of the final round of fixtures, Central Districts had a fifteen point lead over Canterbury, needing just five more points to win the competition and retain their title.[9] However, following the Christchurch mosque shootings, Canterbury withdrew from their final game, against Wellington, therefore Central Districts retained their title.[10] It was the first time in more than fifty years that Central Districts had won back-to-back titles.[11]
Points table edit
| Team[12] | Pld | W | L | D | Ab | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Districts | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 106 |
| Canterbury | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 85 |
| Auckland | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 77 |
| Northern Districts | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 72 |
| Wellington | 8 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 54 |
| Otago | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 41 |
Champions
Fixtures edit
Round 1 edit
10–13 October 2018
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- Canterbury won the toss and elected to field.
- No play was possible on days 2 and 3 due to rain.
10–13 October 2018
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- Auckland won the toss and elected to field.
- No play was possible on day 3 due to rain.
- Andrew Fletcher (Wellington) and Graeme Beghin (Auckland) both made their first-class debuts.
Round 2 edit
17–20 October 2018
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- Canterbury won the toss and elected to field.
- Jack Boyle (Canterbury) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.[13]
Round 3 edit
6–9 December 2018
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- Wellington won the toss and elected to field.
- Jakob Bhula and Ben Sears (Wellington) both made their first-class debuts.
6–9 December 2018
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- Central Districts won the toss and elected to bat.
- Camden Hawkins, Ben Lockrose (Otago) and Dean Foxcroft (Central Districts) all made their first-class debuts.
Round 4 edit
Round 5 edit
21–24 February 2019
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- Central Districts won the toss and elected to bat.
- Todd Astle became the leading wicket-taker for Canterbury.[14]
- Stephen Murdoch (Canterbury) scored his 5,000th run in the Plunket Shield.[15]
21–24 February 2019
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- Northern Districts won the toss and elected to field.
- No play was possible on day 4 due to rain.
21–24 February 2019
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- Otago won the toss and elected to field.
- Tommy Clout (Otago) made his first-class debut.
Round 6 edit
1–4 March 2019
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- Central Districts won the toss and elected to bat.
- Max Chu (Otago) made his first-class debut.
Round 7 edit
Round 8 edit
17–20 March 2019
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- Auckland won the toss and elected to field.
- William O'Donnell (Auckland) made his first-class debut.
- Mitch Renwick (Otago) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.[16]
- Graeme Beghin (Auckland) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.[17]
17–20 March 2019
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- No toss.
- The match was cancelled following the Christchurch mosque shootings.[18]
References edit
- ^ "New Zealand players reach revenue sharing agreement". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "NZ Cricket, Players' Association agree to 26.5 per cent revenue share in Master Agreement". Stuff. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Cricket: NZC, Players Association and Major Associations complete Master Agreement". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Central Districts crowned Plunket Shield champions". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ^ "Williamson, Taylor, Boult to play first round of Plunket Shield". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
- ^ "Central Stags claim final Canterbury wicket with six balls to play in Plunket Shield". Stuff. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
- ^ "Two 0-for-0 declarations and a penultimate-over finish". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
- ^ "Central Stags close to Plunket Shield glory after beating Northern Districts". Stuff. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- ^ "Canterbury overcome Auckland to send Plunket Shield down to the wire". Stuff. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ "Canterbury withdraw from final Plunket Shield match, handing CD title". Stuff. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- ^ "After 51 years, Central Districts win back-to-back Plunket Shields". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ "Plunket Shield 2018-19". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ "Canterbury hold on for draw with one wicket in last session". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ "Black Cap Todd Astle becomes Canterbury's leading wicket taker". Stuff. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Cricket: Defending champions CD Stags lose 21-match trot, top-rung perch after Canterbury win". NZ Heralds. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Back to back Plunket Shield champions set the pace again in Hamilton". Stuff. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ "Auckland fights back but still advantage Otago". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ "Host of sporting events cancelled in New Zealand in wake of Mosque massacre". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 March 2019.