The Manawatu cricket team represents the Manawatū district of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. 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 ...

History

Cricket was played in the region in the 1870s. The

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman an ...

Cricket Club was formed in October 1878. The Manawatu Cricket Association was formed in 1895, made up of six clubs: Feilding, Palmerston North, Colyton, Carnarvon, Cheltenham and Birmingham. Manawatu played in the very first match in the Hawke Cup, when they defeated

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

in December 1910, thanks largely to the bowling of Arthur Ongley, who took 12 wickets. They have held the Hawke Cup nine times, the first time from February 1928 to March 1930, and most recently from February 2014 to February 2015. They also held the trophy between December 1934 and February 1938, and between January 1940 and April 1947. Manawatu is one of the eight district associations that make up

Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...

, which competes in the first-class

Plunket Shield 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 Octob ...

, the 50-over Ford Trophy and the T20 Super Smash. When Central Districts played their first first-class match in December 1950, they were captained by Manawatu's Joe Ongley.

Senior teams

The clubs that compete at senior level in the Manawatu Cricket Association are Bloomfield, Dannevirke HS, Dannevirke SC, Feilding, Freyberg, Manawatu-Foxton, Marist, Maw Haws, Old Boys, Palmerston, Palmerston North BHS, United and Wanderers.

References

{{Reflist Cricket teams Cricket teams in New Zealand Cricket in Central Districts Sport in Manawatū-Whanganui Sports organizations established in 1895