The 2016–17 Plunket Shield was the 88th season of official first-class cricket in New Zealand. The competition started on 22 October 2016, and ran to 1 April 2017.[1] The round seven fixtures that started in early March 2017, were played as day/night matches.[2][3] These were in preparation for a possible day/night Test match between New Zealand and England, scheduled to take place in March 2018.[4] Despite some concerns about the visibility of the pink ball while catching, the matches received positive feedback.[5]
| Dates | 22 October 2016 – 1 April 2017 |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | First-class |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin |
| Champions | Canterbury (19th title) |
| Participants | 6 |
| Matches | 30 |
| Most runs | Brad Wilson (730) |
| Most wickets | Ajaz Patel (44) |
In the first round of matches, Michael Papps playing for Wellington, became the first player to score 10,000 runs in the Plunket Shield.[6] The start of the round four fixture between Wellington and Central Districts was delayed because of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck New Zealand on 14 November 2016.[7] It was later abandoned because of frequent aftershocks in the area.[8]
Canterbury won the tournament, their 19th title in the competition, and their third win in the last four years.[9]
Points table
edit| Team[10] | Pld | W | L | D | Ab | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 105 |
| Northern Districts | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 103 |
| Auckland | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 98 |
| Wellington | 10 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 86 |
| Central Districts | 10 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 79 |
| Otago | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 60 |
Winner
Teams
editSquads
editPrior to the start of the season, the following squads were announced:[11]
| Auckland | Canterbury | Central Districts | Northern Districts | Otago | Wellington |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fixtures
editRound 1
edit22–25 October 2016
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- Northern Districts won the toss and elected to field.
- Henry Shipley (Canterbury) made his first-class debut.
Round 2
editRound 3
edit5–8 November 2016
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- Otago won the toss and elected to bat.
- Christian Leopard (Central Districts) made his first-class debut.
5–8 November 2016
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- Auckland won the toss and elected to field.
- Cody Andrews (Auckland) made his first-class debut.
Round 4
edit14–17 November 2016
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- No toss.
- The match was abandoned due to an earthquake that struck the region the previous day.[8]
Round 5
edit22–25 November 2016
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- Central Districts won the toss and elected to bat.
- Henry Cooper (Northern Districts) made his first-class debut.
22–25 November 2016
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- Auckland won the toss and elected to field.
- Sean Solia (Auckland) and Jack Boyle (Canterbury) both made their first-class debuts.
Round 6
edit25–28 February 2017
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- Auckland won the toss and elected to bat.
- No play was possible on day 1.
- Ben Horne, Aniket Parikh and Rajvinder Sandhu (Auckland) all made their first-class debuts.
26 February–1 March 2017
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- Canterbury won the toss and elected to field.
- Peter Younghusband (Wellington) made his first-class debut.
Round 7
editv
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- Canterbury won the toss and elected to bat.
- No play was possible on days 2 and 3.
- Glenn Phillips (Auckland) made his first-class debut.
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- Central Districts won the toss and elected to bat.
- No play was possible on day 3.
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- Otago won the toss and elected to field.
- No play was possible on day 2.
Round 8
editRound 9
edit21–24 March 2017
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- Auckland won the toss and elected to field.
- Gregor Croudis (Otago) made his first-class debut.
21–24 March 2017
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- Wellington won the toss and elected to bat.
- Brett Randell (Northern Districts) made his first-class debut.
Round 10
edit29 March–1 April 2017
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- Northern Districts won the toss and elected to field.
- Josh Tasman-Jones (Otago) made his first-class debut.
References
edit- ^ "Pink ball set for trial in Plunket Shield". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ "2016-17 Summer Domestic Schedules". Black Caps. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ "Pink ball to grace NZ first-class cricket in March as trial for day-night test". Stuff. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ "Plunket Shield gears up for pink-ball cricket". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ "Pink-ball trial at Eden Park returns positive feedback". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Papps first to 10000 Plunket Shield runs as Wellington beat Auckland". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ "Earthquake forces Plunket Shield delay in Wellington". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
- ^ a b "Aftershocks force abandonment of Plunket Shield match in Wellington". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ "Auckland's loss hands Canterbury third Shield". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ "Points Table". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ "Legspinner Younghusband bags Wellington contract". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 November 2016.