The 2021–22 Plunket Shield was the 93rd season of the Plunket Shield, the domestic first-class cricket competition that was played in New Zealand.[1] The tournament took place from October 2021 to April 2022.[2] In July 2021, New Zealand Cricket named all the squads for the domestic teams ahead of the 2021–22 season.[3] Canterbury were the defending champions.[4]
| Dates | 23 October 2021 – 15 April 2022 |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | First-class |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin |
| Champions | Auckland (24th title) |
| Participants | 6 |
| Matches | 24 |
| Most runs | Tom Bruce (858) |
| Most wickets | Brett Randell (31) Nathan Smith (31) |
In September 2021, New Zealand Cricket announced the schedule for the tournament.[5] However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, two of the opening round fixtures were postponed,[6] and were rescheduled for a later date.[7] Auckland won the tournament during the penultimate round of matches,[8] after the match between Northern Districts and Central Districts ended in a draw due to positive COVID-19 cases in the Northern Districts' team.[9] As a result of the COVID-19 cases, Northern Districts had 19 players unavailable for their final match of the season, with seven players making their first-class debut.[10] It was the highest number of debutants in the same match for Northern Districts since their inaugural first-class fixture in 1956.[11]
Points table edit
| Team[12] | Pld | W | L | D | Ab | Pts | Avge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 104 | 13.00 |
| Canterbury | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 92 | 11.50 |
| Northern Districts | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 68 | 9.71 |
| Central Districts | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 56 | 8.00 |
| Otago | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 7.62 |
| Wellington | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 7.25 |
Champions.
Teams were ranked by average points per completed match, including abandoned matches, which earned four points, but the regulations excluded the Covid-affected draw between Northern Districts and Central Districts from the calculations.[13]
Fixtures edit
2021 edit
23–26 October 2021
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- Wellington won the toss and elected to field.
- Jake Gibson (Otago) made his first-class debut.
23–26 October 2021
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- Central Districts won the toss and elected to bat.
- Bayley Wiggins (Central Districts) made his first-class debut.
- Bayley Wiggins (Central Districts) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.[14]
31 October – 3 November 2021
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- Wellington won the toss and elected to field.
- Nick Greenwood (Wellington) made his first-class debut.
7–10 November 2021
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- Wellington won the toss and elected to field.
- Callum McLachlan (Wellington) made his first-class debut.
15–18 November 2021
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- Central Districts won the toss and elected to field.
- James Hartshorn (Wellington) and Ma'ara Ave (Central Districts) both made their first-class debuts.
22–25 November 2021
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- Northern Districts won the toss and elected to field.
- Max Chu (Otago) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.[15]
- Henry Cooper (Northern Districts) scored his maiden double century in first-class cricket.[16]
2022 edit
11–14 February 2022
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- Otago won the toss and elected to field.
- No play was possible on day 3 due to rain.
- Jacob Cumming, Thorn Parkes (Otago) and Simon Keene (Auckland) all made their first-class debuts.
- Simon Keene (Auckland) took his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.[17]
3–6 March 2022
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- Auckland won the toss and elected to bat.
- Zak Foulkes (Canterbury) made his first-class debut.
3–6 March 2022
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- Northern Districts won the toss and elected to bat.
- Kristian Clarke (Northern Districts) made his first-class debut.
11–14 March 2022
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- Central Districts won the toss and elected to field.
- Scott Johnston (Northern Districts) made his first-class debut.
20–23 March 2022
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- Canterbury won the toss and elected to bat.
- Only 16 overs of play was possible on day 2 due to rain.
- William Clark (Central Districts) and William O’Rourke (Canterbury) both made their first-class debuts.
20–23 March 2022
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0/0d (0 overs)
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- Otago won the toss and elected to field.
- No play was possible on day 3 due to rain.
- Devan Vishvaka and Tim Robinson (Wellington) both made their first-class debuts.
28–31 March 2022
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9/0 (1.3 overs)
William O'Donnell 5* (8) |
- Auckland won the toss and elected to bat.
- Sean Solia (Auckland) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.[18]
- Tim Robinson (Wellington) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.[19]
29 March – 1 April 2022
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- Northern Districts won the toss and elected to bat.
- Freddy Walker (Northern Districts) made his first-class debut.
- Tom Bruce (Central Districts) scored his maiden double century in first-class cricket.[20]
- No play was possible on day 4 after multiple cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Northern Districts' squad.[21]
29 March – 1 April 2022
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- Canterbury won the toss and elected to field.
- Mitchell Hay (Canterbury) made his first-class debut.
5–8 April 2022
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- Central Districts won the toss and elected to field.
- Flynn McGregor-Sumpter and Jordan Sussex (Auckland) both made their first-class debuts.
6–9 April 2022
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- Northern Districts won the toss and elected to bat.
- Ben Pomare, Chris Swanson, Fergus Lellman, Josh Brown, Peter Drysdale, Sam Varcoe, Sandeep Patel (Northern Districts) and Kieran McComb (Wellington) all made their first-class debuts.
References edit
- ^ "Allrounder added to Central Stags roster - Central Districts Cricket". Voxy. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ "Plunket Shield 2021–22" (PDF). New Zealand Cricket. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "All the New Zealand domestic squads for the 2021-22 season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ "Plunket Shield: Canterbury secure first four-day title since 2017 after thumping Central Stags". Stuff. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Covid Curveballs delay Domestic Cricket". Cricket New Zealand. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Lockdown disruption to start of New Zealand domestic season". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Auckland, Northern Districts teams to miss opening rounds of domestic cricket due to lockdown". Stuff. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Plunket Shield: Auckland Aces are New Zealand's first class champions despite Covid-19 ravaged season". Stuff. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ "Northern Districts' Covid-19 cases force Plunket Shield match to be canned, Auckland clinch title". Stuff. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ "Peter Drysdale makes first-class debut aged 33 with 19 ND players unavailable". Stuff. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ "Auckland secures Plunket Shield in style". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ^ "Plunket Shield Table - 2021–22". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
- ^ "Season finale: a battle of the spinners". NZC. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ "Debutant Bayley Wiggins opens Plunket Shield in style as CD take fight to Canterbury". Stuff. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "Plunket Shield: Promising young keeper Max Chu rescues Otago with maiden century as Jeet Raval hits form". Stuff. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ "Plunket Shield: Henry Cooper scores first double century, Northern Districts take control in Alexandra". Stuff. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- ^ "Simon Keene shines on debut for Auckland Aces, Black Cap Glenn Phillips brings T20 hitting to Plunket Shield". Stuff. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- ^ "Plunket Shield: Sean Solia's maiden first class century and Robbie O'Donnell's seventh, put Auckland Aces on top". Stuff. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ "Northern Districts openers Jeet Raval, Bharat Popli bat all day for big centuries". Stuff. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ "Plunket Shield: Tom Bruce scores double century as runs keep coming at Cobham Oval". Stuff. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "Auckland win Plunket Shield after Covid-19 hits Northern Districts". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
External links edit
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