Hawke Cup

The Hawke Cup is a cricket competition for New Zealand's District Associations. Apart from 1910/11, 1912/13 and 2000/01 the competition has always been on a challenge basis. To win the Hawke Cup the challengers must beat the holders on the holders' home ground.

Teams from New Zealand's four "main centres", Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, have not usually competed for the Hawke Cup, although they did participate in the latter half of the 1990s. They were excluded again from the 2000-01 season. From 2000 to 2010 the team from Hamilton, New Zealand's fourth-largest urban area, was the most successful. Since then the title has changed hands numerous times, Manawatu, Hawke's Bay and recently Bay of Plenty being especially prominent. In 2012-13 Hamilton conceded the highest-ever score in the Hawke Cup of 701 against Bay of Plenty. Bay of Plenty defeated Hawke's Bay in the last challenge of the 2015-16 season and resisted all four challenges in 2016-17.

The Plunket Shield, New Zealand's premier cricket competition for its first-class teams, was inaugurated in 1907. In 1910 Lord Hawke donated a challenge cup for competition among the minor associations. The first match, in December 1910, resulted in a victory to Manawatu over Wairarapa. The first holders, decided in the final match of the 1910-11 season, were Southland.

Note: The title can change hands more than once during a season. In 1927-28, for example, Wanganui took the title from Taranaki in the first match, held it for three matches, then lost it in the fifth match to Manawatu, who retained it in the last match of the season.

From 1985-86 to 1994-95 the competition was called the U-Bix Cup; from 1995-96 to 1997-98 it was the Fuji Xerox Cup; in 1998-99 it was the National District Championship.

Nelson has the record for holding the Cup for the longest period and the most challenges. Between 1958 and 1965 Nelson resisted 28 challenges.

Current players can only play a maximum of 4 Hawke Cup Challenge matches a season, and that is only for members of the team holding the Hawke Cup and defeating every challenger (first defence within their own zone and defeating the winners of the other three zones). Historically there have only been between 2 and 6 Hawke Cup Challenge matches every year for the holders, so it has been difficult for players to build much of a record unless they have been part of a strong team and have had a lengthy career.

...
Wikipedia