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.
History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in October 1906 with the donation of a shield by William Plunket, 5th Baron Plunket, who was the Governor-General of New Zealand from 1904 to 1910. 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". 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.
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.R.T. Brittenden, Great Days in New Zealand Cricket, A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1958, pp. 33–38.
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. 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. During this period the Plunket Shield was contested in occasional games between the North Island and South Island teams – they played a three-day match in December 1977 and one-day matches in the 1981–82, 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons.
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 competition was the 'State Championship'. Each of the provincial teams played in a single round-robin series of four-day matches. There was a target of 112 overs in each day's play. After the round-robin the two highest-ranked teams played a five-day final.
A List A 50-over competition known as the State Shield was run from late December to the end of January, culminating with a semi-final (second versus third) and final (the semi-final winner against the top qualifier) early in February.
In 2006, a provincial Twenty20 competition was begun, and was played during February and early March. The top two sides qualified for the final. It was called the State Twenty20.
Plunket Shield reinstated When State Insurance withdraw from their sponsorship, the Plunket Shield was reinstated for the 2009–10 season. New Zealand Cricket stated that the naming rights were no longer for sale and that the competition would henceforth be known as the Plunket Shield. The final was abolished, meaning that the team with the most points at the end of the competition wins the title.Don Cameron, "Domestic Cricket in New Zealand, 2009-10", Wisden 2011, pp. 995–1000.
Teams Team Region Enteredcompetition Most recentwin Wins(counted since 1921–22 season)Auckland Auckland 1906/07 2021/22 24Wellington Wellington 1906/07 2023/24 22Canterbury CanterburyWest Coast 1906/07 2025/26 21Otago OtagoSouthland 1906/07 1987/88 13Central Districts Hawke's BayTaranakiManawatū–WhanganuiHorowhenuaKapitiWairarapaNelsonMarlborough 1950/51 2022/23 12Northern Districts NorthlandCounties ManukauHamiltonBay of PlentyWaikatoPoverty Bay 1956/57 2024/25 9
Former teams Hawke's Bay played twice in the Plunket Shield, in the 1914/15 and 1920/21 seasons, losing both matches.
Points system Points are awarded at the conclusion of each match. With no final, the team with the most points is declared the champion. The points system for the 2023/24 season was as follows:
Won: 12 points Lost: 0 points Draw: 0 points Tie: 6 points Abandoned (without a ball bowled) / No result (drawn one-innings match): 4 points Batting points: First innings only up to 110 overs – first point at 200 runs, second point at 250 runs, third point at 300 runs, fourth point at 350 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 Points may deducted for failing to bowl at least 15 overs per hour
If two or more teams are equal at the end of the season, the team with more victories will prevail, and if that does not separate the teams, the team with the higher net average per wicket will prevail.
Winners The holders of the shield during its "challenge match" period to 1921 were: Season Holders Matches 1906–07 Canterbury – 1907–08 Auckland 1 1908–09 Auckland 2 1909–10 Auckland 3 1910–11 Auckland, Canterbury 2 1911–12 Canterbury, Auckland 3 1912–13 Auckland, Canterbury 3 1913–14 Canterbury 4 1914–15 Canterbury 4 1915–18 no competition due to World War I – 1918–19 Wellington, Canterbury 3 1919–20 Canterbury, Auckland 3 1920–21 Auckland, Wellington 3
From the 1921–22 season the competition has been run on a round robin format. Season Winner Runner-up 1921–22 Auckland Wellington 1922–23 Canterbury Wellington 1923–24 Wellington Auckland 1924–25 Otago Canterbury 1925–26 Wellington Auckland 1926–27 Auckland Wellington 1927–28 Wellington Canterbury 1928–29 Auckland Wellington 1929–30 Wellington Auckland 1930–31 Canterbury Auckland 1931–32 Wellington Canterbury 1932–33 Otago Canterbury 1933–34 Auckland Otago 1934–35 Canterbury Auckland 1935–36 Wellington Auckland 1936–37 Auckland Otago 1937–38 Auckland Otago 1938–39 Auckland Canterbury 1939–40 Auckland Canterbury 1940–45 (not contested due to World War II) 1945–46 Canterbury Auckland 1946–47 Auckland Wellington 1947–48 Otago Canterbury 1948–49 Canterbury Otago 1949–50 Wellington Canterbury 1950–51 Otago Central Districts 1951–52 Canterbury Auckland 1952–53 Otago Central Districts 1953–54 Central Districts Auckland 1954–55 Wellington Canterbury 1955–56 Canterbury Auckland 1956–57 Wellington Otago 1957–58 Otago Auckland 1958–59 Auckland Otago 1959–60 Canterbury Otago 1960–61 Wellington Canterbury 1961–62 Wellington Auckland 1962–63 Northern Districts Wellington 1963–64 Auckland Wellington 1964–65 Canterbury Central Districts 1965–66 Wellington Canterbury 1966–67 Central Districts Canterbury 1967–68 Central Districts Canterbury 1968–69 Auckland Canterbury 1969–70 Otago Central Districts 1970–71 Central Districts Wellington 1971–72 Otago Auckland 1972–73 Wellington Auckland 1973–74 Wellington Canterbury 1974–75 Otago Canterbury 1975–76 Canterbury Otago 1976–77 Otago Central Districts 1977–78 Auckland Canterbury 1978–79 Otago Central Districts 1979–80 Northern Districts Wellington 1980–81 Auckland Canterbury 1981–82 Wellington Northern Districts 1982–83 Wellington Central Districts 1983–84 Canterbury Central Districts 1984–85 Wellington Auckland 1985–86 Otago Auckland 1986–87 Central Districts Otago 1987–88 Otago Auckland 1988–89 Auckland Wellington 1989–90 Wellington Canterbury 1990–91 Auckland Canterbury 1991–92 Central Districts & Northern Districts 1992–93 Northern Districts Otago 1993–94 Canterbury Auckland 1994–95 Auckland Wellington 1995–96 Auckland Wellington 1996–97 Canterbury Otago 1997–98 Canterbury Northern Districts 1998–99 Central Districts Otago 1999–00 Northern Districts Auckland 2000–01 Wellington Northern Districts 2001–02 Auckland Wellington 2002–03 Auckland Wellington 2003–04 Wellington Canterbury 2004–05 Auckland Wellington 2005–06 Central Districts Wellington 2006–07 Northern Districts Canterbury 2007–08 Canterbury Wellington 2008–09 Auckland Central Districts 2009–10 Northern Districts Canterbury 2010–11 Canterbury Otago 2011–12 Northern Districts Central Districts 2012–13 Central Districts Otago 2013–14 Canterbury Otago 2014–15 Canterbury Auckland 2015–16 Auckland Canterbury 2016–17 Canterbury Northern Districts 2017–18 Central Districts Wellington 2018–19 Central Districts Canterbury 2019–20 Wellington Central Districts 2020–21 Canterbury Northern Districts 2021–22 Auckland Canterbury 2022–23 Central Districts Canterbury 2023–24 Wellington Northern Districts 2024–25 Northern Districts Wellington 2025–26 Canterbury Otago
Statistics
Top run scorers and wicket takers by season