Wikipedia

Central Districts cricket team

"Central Districts" redirects here. For the Australian Rules Football team, see Central District Football Club. For the Central Districts women's cricket team, see Central Hinds.


The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield first-class competition, The Ford Trophy domestic one-day competition and are the current champions of the Men's Super Smash Twenty20 competition. They are one of six teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. They were the fifth of the current teams to compete in the Plunket Shield, which they entered for the first time in the 1950/51 season.

Central Stags
Top: Central Stags logo
Bottom: Central Stags Twenty20 emblem
Personnel
CaptainTom Bruce (Super Smash and Plunket Shield)
Jayden Lennox (Ford Trophy)
CoachGlenn Pocknall (Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy)
Ben Smith (Super Smash)
Team information
ColoursCS Green and gold
Founded1950
Home groundMcLean Park
Pukekura Park
Fitzherbert Park
Saxton Oval
Capacity19,700 (McLean Park)
History
Plunket Shield wins12
The Ford Trophy wins7
Men's Super Smash wins4
Champions League Twenty20 wins0
Cricket Max wins2
Global Super League wins0
Official websitecdcricket.co.nz

History

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Central Districts comprises eight District associations: Hawke's Bay, Horowhenua-Kapiti, Manawatu, Taranaki, Wairarapa and Whanganui in the North Island, and Marlborough and Nelson in the South Island.[1] Previously, many players from these regions competed for Wellington. More than a century before the eventual founding of the Central Districts Cricket Association, the first fully recorded cricket match in New Zealand was played in what is now one of its districts, in Nelson, a men's match in March 1844.

Between October 2016 and February 2019, the team set a new Central Districts record for the number of consecutive first-class matches without a defeat, with 21. The previous Central Stags record in the Plunket Shield was 12, while the New Zealand record for most consecutive domestic first-class matches without a loss is 24, set by Wellington (now known as the Wellington Firebirds) between 1984/85 and 1986/87.

Captain Tom Bruce holds the record for the highest individual first-class score for the Central Stags with an innings of 345 in the Plunket Shield against Auckland Cricket in March 2025. It also became the third highest first-class score in New Zealand Domestic cricket history, and highest since Bert Sutcliffe in 1952 who is the only player to have scored more runs in a Domestic first-class innings in New Zealand.

Bruce's triple century contributed to a team total of 700/5 declared, the team's record first-class total. [2]

The previous first-class record for the Stags was held by retired top order batsman Peter Ingram with an innings of 247 in 2008/09. Ingram also scored the team's third highest individual score with 245 not out in 2009/10.

The New Zealand Domestic T20 all wickets partnership record is held by Ingram with Jamie How, the pair having put on 201 for the first wicket at Pukekura Park in 2011/12, against Wellington.

How and Jeet Raval share the New Zealand Domestic List A partnership record of 321, set against Northern Districts at Seddon Park in 2012/13, a match in which How became the first player to score a Ford Trophy double century, reaching his hundred in 49 balls and breaking the competition record that had been held by retired Canterbury batsman Peter Fulton.

One of New Zealand's greatest batsmen, Ross Taylor, played for the Central Stags. He made his first-class debut for the team as an 18-year-old on 9 January 2003. In 2021/22 at Pukekura Park, Taylor broke the record for the fastest Ford Trophy century, reaching his hundred in 49 balls, breaking the national record that had been held by retired Canterbury batsman Peter Fulton. Taylor played his final match for the Stags in 2022/23.

In 2017, Brad Schmulian hit the highest score by any New Zealand cricketer on first-class debut with an innings of 203 for the Central Stags against Northern Districts at Bay Oval. The previous record had stood since the late 19th century.

In 2010, Kieran Noema-Barnett set a New Zealand record for the fastest T20 half century, off just 18 balls. In the 2016 Ford Trophy Grand Final, another Central Stags batsman, Tom Bruce, added the record for the fastest one-day half century in New Zealand with his 50 coming off 16 balls.

Two batsmen named Ben Smith have played for the Central Stags. Adding to the confusion, both Ben Smith and Ben Smith have scored a first-class double century for the team.

Among New Zealand's premier cricketing schools to have produced many Central Stags players are New Plymouth Boys' High School, Palmerston North Boys' High, Napier Boys' High School, Nelson College, Waimea College, Marlborough Boys' College and Whanganui Collegiate.

The CEO of Central Districts Cricket Association is a former Central Stags player, Lance Hamilton. In September 2019 former CEO Pete de Wet announced that CDCA had signed renowned international coach Mickey Arthur as the Central Stags T20 coach for the 2019/20 Super Smash season, however Arthur was granted a contract release before the competition began.[3]

In 2019/20, the team had a chance to become the first team since 1940 to win the Plunket Shield for three seasons in a row. However, the team was second on the table when the final two rounds of the eight-match season were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Plunket Shield was awarded to the Wellington cricket team, whom they had been about to play at McLean Park, with the Stags declared runners-up.[4]

In 2022/23, the team won the first-class Plunket Shield and the List A one-day Ford Trophy in the same season for the first time. The team had previously done the first-class and T20 double in 2019. The team achieved this after both the Ford Trophy Grand Final and the decisive match of the Plunket Shield had been postponed [5] and moved to an alternate venue following Cyclone Gabrielle.

In May 2025, it was announced that the Central Stags would become the first team from New Zealand to compete in Guyana's Global Super League. [6]

Honours

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1953–54, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1986–87, 1991–92, 1998–99, 2005–06, 2012–13, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2022–23

1984–85, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2014–15,[7] 2015–16, 2022–23

2007–08, 2009–10, 2018–19, 2024–25

  • Cricket Max (2)[8]

1996–97

Grounds

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Current

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Since 2014–15, Central Districts have used McLean Park, Nelson Park, Napier, Fitzherbert Park and Saxton Oval for first-class matches.[9] Pukekura Park, Fitzherbert Park, McLean Park and Saxton Oval are regularly used for List A and T20 matches.[10][11]

Former

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Current squad

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  • No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
  • ‡ denotes players with international caps.
No. Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Notes
Wicketkeeper
15 Dane Cleaver ‡   New Zealand (1992-01-01) 1 January 1992 (age 33) Right-handed Leg break CDCA contract
2 Curtis Heaphy   New Zealand (2003-07-28) 28 July 2003 (age 21) Right-handed CDCA contract
Batsmen
- Sam Cassidy   New Zealand (2004-05-21) 21 May 2004 (age 21) Right-handed Right-arm medium
42 Tom Bruce ‡   New Zealand (1991-08-02) 2 August 1991 (age 33) Right-handed Right arm off break CDCA contract
28 Dean Foxcroft   New Zealand (1998-04-20) 20 April 1998 (age 27) Right-handed Right-arm off break CDCA contract
14 Brad Schmulian   New Zealand (1990-08-03) 3 August 1990 (age 34) Right-handed Leg break CDCA contract
4 Will Young ‡   New Zealand (1992-11-22) 22 November 1992 (age 32) Right-handed Right arm off break NZC contract
Allrounders
34 Doug Bracewell ‡   New Zealand (1990-09-28) 28 September 1990 (age 34) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium CDCA contract
7 Will Clark   New Zealand (2001-09-05) 5 September 2001 (age 23) Right-handed Right-arm medium CDCA contract
22 Josh Clarkson ‡   New Zealand (1997-01-21) 21 January 1997 (age 28) Right-handed Right-arm medium CDCA contract
77 Angus Schaw   New Zealand (1994-03-14) 14 March 1994 (age 31) Right-handed Right-arm off break CDCA contract
Bowlers
17 Tyler Annand   New Zealand (2004-04-16) 16 April 2004 (age 21) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium
8 Joey Field   New Zealand (2000-12-19) 19 December 2000 (age 24) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium CDCA contract
32 Toby Findlay   New Zealand (2003-06-21) 21 June 2003 (age 22) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium CDCA contract
55 Jayden Lennox   New Zealand (1994-12-14) 14 December 1994 (age 30) Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox CDCA contract
21 Ajaz Patel ‡   New Zealand (1988-10-21) 21 October 1988 (age 36) Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox CDCA contract
00 Brett Randell   New Zealand (1995-05-20) 20 May 1995 (age 30) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium CDCA contract
13 Blair Tickner ‡   New Zealand (1993-10-13) 13 October 1993 (age 31) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium CDCA contract
11 Ray Toole   New Zealand (1997-10-30) 30 October 1997 (age 27) Left-handed Left-arm fast-medium CDCA contract

Notable players

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Main article: List of Central Districts representative cricketers

New Zealand

Canada

England

Sri Lanka

India

West Indies

Zimbabwe


Records

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See List of New Zealand first-class cricket records

References

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  1. ^ Central Districts Cricket Association – Districts Archived 5 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 January 2006
  2. ^ https://www.nzc.nz/news-items/the-highest-first-class-knock-since-bert-sutcliffe/
  3. ^ "Mickey Arthur to Coach Central Stags". Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Plunket Shield cancelled: Wellington declared winners". www.nzc.nz. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Ford Trophy Final postponed". www.nzc.nz.
  6. ^ https://newsroom.gy/2025/05/07/new-zealands-central-stags-to-feature-at-global-super-league-2025/
  7. ^ "Andrew Mathieson has a field day as Central Stags win national one-day cricket final". February 2015.
  8. ^ https://www.cdcricket.co.nz/Fanzone-1/Central-Stags
  9. ^ "First-Class Matches played by Central Districts". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  10. ^ "List A Matches played by Central Districts". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Twenty20 Matches played by Central Districts". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
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