Photo Credit: England & Wales Cricket Board
Following the latest Government announcement on Alert Level restrictions, New Zealand Cricket has made the following changes to the Plunket Shield and Hallyburton Johnstone Shield competitions:
- The second round Plunket Shield match between the Wellington Firebirds and Northern Districts at the Basin Reserve on Oct 31-Nov 3, will now be postponed and rescheduled for later in the season – due to travel restrictions on players in Waikato
- The Firebirds will host Canterbury at the Basin Reserve on Oct 31-Nov 3 instead
- The Hallyburton Johnstone Shield first and second round games between the Canterbury Magicians and the Auckland Hearts at Rangiora’s Mainpower Stadium on November 6 and 7, respectively, will be postponed and rescheduled for later in the season
NZC’s COVID-19 Response Team will meet again on Wednesday to consider any further changes to the schedules.
NZC’s Head of Cricket Operations, Charlie Brewer, said the bottom line for all involved was to play cricket where and when possible.
“This has been a collaborative decision, involving all our Major Associations and the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association, and reflects a shared desire to be flexible and to take every opportunity to play cricket,” he said.
Mr Brewer said an average points per game system will be implemented to determine winners of domestic competitions, if teams impacted by COVID-19 restrictions play fewer matches than other teams.
Name of Author: New Zealand Cricket
The New Zealand national cricket team, known as the Black Caps, made their Test debut in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth nation to play Test cricket. After waiting 26 years for their first Test win against the West Indies in 1956, they also played their first ODI in 1972–73 against Pakistan. New Zealand are the inaugural World Test Championship champions (2021) and have won the ICC Champions Trophy (2000). They have reached the Cricket World Cup final twice and the T20 World Cup final once.
