New Zealand first-class cricket championship
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| Countries |
 New Zealand
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|---|---|
| Administrator | New Zealand Cricket |
| Format | First-class cricket |
| First tournament | 1906–07 |
| Tournament format | Round-robin |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Current champion | Auckland Aces |
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.
The competition was instigated in 1906 with the donation of a shield by William Plunket, 5th Baron Plunket, the Governor-General of New Zealand. In its early years, the competition was decided by a series of challenge matches between five provincial cricket association sides: Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago and, on just two occasions, Hawke's Bay. The first winner was Canterbury.
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 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.
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 cricket competition was the 'State Championship'.
Between November and early April, each of the provincial teams play in a one round round-robin series of 4-day matches against every other team. With a target of 112 overs (6.5 hours) daily play, games are only marginally shorter than a typical test match (90 overs/day). Points are awarded based on the results of the matches, and after each team has played each other once, the two highest ranked teams play a 5-day final, in early April.
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