The Canterbury Country cricket team represents the rural areas of the northern part of the

Canterbury Region Canterbury ( mi, Waitaha) is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of , making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of The region in its current fo ...

in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

of New Zealand. It covers the area east of the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

, between the Clarence River in the north and the

Rakaia River The Rakaia River is in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island. The Rakaia River is one of the largest braided rivers in New Zealand. The Rakaia River has a mean flow of and a mean annual seven-day low flow of . In the 1850s, Euro ...

in the south, excluding metropolitan

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. It competes in the

Hawke Cup The Hawke Cup is a non-first-class 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 t ...

and has its base in

Rangiora Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the 30th largest urba ...

History

Early years

Cricket was played in Rangiora and

Kaiapoi Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River. It is con ...

in the 1850s. The first North Canterbury Cricket Association was formed in Rangiora in August 1892, and the competition that season comprised six clubs: Cust, Oxford, Ashley County, Ohoka, Amberley and Woodend; Amberley won the first title. The association's name was changed to Ashley County Cricket Association in September 1896, then back to North Canterbury Cricket Association in September 1911. The association's representative team frequently played against other Canterbury associations. An annual competition among them was established in the 1920s, and a combined associations team played an annual match against

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. In 1962 a new body was formed covering all the associations, initially called the North Canterbury Minor Association. Its constituent sub-associations were Ashley (renamed again from North Canterbury to avoid confusion), Banks Peninsula, Ellesmere, Hurunui and Malvern.

Hawke Cup years

The newly-formed North Canterbury team played its first

elimination match against

Central Otago Central Otago is located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River and tributa ...

in December 1963, winning on the first innings. One of the founders of the Association,

Allan Wright Group Captain Allan Richard Wright, (12 February 1920 – 16 September 2015) was a Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 19 ...

, was also the team's first captain. He led North Canterbury to their first Hawke Cup title, when they beat Manawatu in January 1967; he was also the team's top-scorer in this match, with 45 and 75. It was the first time a team south of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

had won the Cup since

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

in 1913. North Canterbury also won the Cup in March 1988 when they beat Southland. In the early 1990s the association changed its name to Canterbury Country. It now has two divisions – North Canterbury for the area north of Christchurch, and Country South, for the area south of Christchurch. Canterbury Country won the Hawke Cup at the first attempt, beating

narrowly in March 1993. They have since won the Cup six times, most recently in November 2022 when they beat

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

and retained the title throughout the 2022–23 season.Francis Payne & Ian Smith, eds, ''2021 New Zealand Cricket Almanack'', Upstart Press, Takapuna, 2021, pp. 172–73.

References

{{Reflist Cricket teams in New Zealand Cricket in Canterbury Sports organizations established in 1962