The Minor Associations cricket team, representing the Minor Associations in

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 ...

, appeared once at first-class level, playing against the touring Australians at the

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve (commonly known as "The Basin") is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It has been used for Test matches, and is the main home ground for the Wellington Firebirds first-class team. The Basin Reserve is the only cricke ...

in March 1921. The Australians batted first and made 271, then the Minor Associations made 124 and 141, losing by an innings and 6 runs. The Minor Associations team included players from the Manawatu,

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 ...

, North Taranaki,

Poverty Bay Poverty Bay (Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa'') is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the north ...

, Rangitikei,

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 ...

and Wanganui associations. As

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

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 ...

were still competing at first-class level, their players were not considered. The team included only three men whose careers amounted to more than a handful of first-class games:

Ces Dacre Charles Christian Ralph "Ces" Dacre (15 May 1899 – 2 November 1975) was a cricketer from New Zealand who also represented New Zealand in football (soccer). He played in the Auckland and Gloucestershire cricket teams and was in New Zealand's ...

David Collins David Collins may refer to: Persons * David Collins (Hampshire cricketer), 18th-century cricketer * David Collins (New Zealand cricketer) (1887–1967) * David Collins (Scottish footballer) (1912–?) * David Collins (Australian footballer) ( ...

and

Bill Bernau Ernest Henry Lovell "Bill" Bernau (6 April 1896 – 7 January 1966) was a New Zealand cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1914–15 to 1927–28, and accompanied the New Zealand national cricket team on their tour of Engla ...

. For six of the team it was their only first-class match. Collins was the sole selector and the captain. He finished off the Australians' innings by taking four wickets for no runs in one eight-ball over: two

bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...

and two

leg before wicket Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batter out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket but was instead in ...

. The Minor Associations team also played a non-first-class match against one of the

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 ...

teams in most seasons in the 1920s and 1930s. When the Minor Associations gained collective first-class status with the advent of the

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 ...

and

Northern Districts The Northern Districts men's cricket team are one of six New Zealand first-class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. They are based in the northern half of the North Island of New Zealand (excluding Auckland). They compete in the ...

teams in the 1950s, there was no further need for a Minor Associations team.

References

Former senior cricket clubs in New Zealand Cricket teams in New Zealand {{Cricket-team-stub