The 2021–22 Plunket Shield was the 93rd season 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 Octo ...

, the domestic

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

competition that was played in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The tournament took place from October 2021 to April 2022. In July 2021,

New Zealand Cricket New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New ...

named all the squads for the domestic teams ahead of the 2021–22 season.

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

were the defending champions. In September 2021, New Zealand Cricket announced the schedule for the tournament. However, due to the impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand was part of COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case of the disease in New Zeala ...

, two of the opening round fixtures were postponed, and were rescheduled for a later date.

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

won the tournament during the penultimate round of matches, after the match between Northern Districts and

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 ...

ended in a draw due to positive

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

cases in the Northern Districts' team. As a result of the COVID-19 cases, Northern Districts had 19 players unavailable for their final match of the season, with seven players making their first-class debut. It was the highest number of debutants in the same match for Northern Districts since their inaugural first-class fixture in 1956.

Points table

Champions. ''Teams were ranked by average points per completed match, including abandoned matches, which earned four points, but the regulations excluded the Covid-affected draw between Northern Districts and Central Districts from the calculations.''

Fixtures

2021

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

2022

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

References

External links

Series home at ESPN Cricinfo
{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Plunket Shield season Plunket Shield 2021–22 New Zealand cricket season