The Hawke's Bay cricket team, representing the

Hawke's Bay region Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

of New Zealand, played

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 ...

between 1883–84 and 1920–21, and competed in 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 ...

in the 1914–15 and 1920–21 seasons. The side has continued to appear in minor cricket and is one of the 21 teams from around New Zealand that compete 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 ...

, where it was the dominant team from 2020 to 2024.

First-class history

In their first match at first-class level, against

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

at the

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve, also known as the Cello Basin Reserve for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the Basin, is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It is used for Test cricket, Test matches, and is the main home ground of t ...

in February 1884, Hawke's Bay were dismissed for just 32 in their second innings thanks to

Joseph Firth Joseph "Pentland" Firth (25 March 1859 – 13 April 1931) was a New Zealand educationalist and teacher. He was the headmaster of Wellington College from 1892 to 1920. He was born and died in Wellington, and played first-class cricket for Welli ...

's remarkable return of 8 for 13 from 13 four-ball overs. In their next match, in 1884–85, they beat Wellington at Napier Recreation Ground by eight wickets. They lost their next three matches, all against Wellington, before trouncing

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

in two matches in 1891–92. In the first of these matches they dismissed Taranaki for 70 and 39 and the game was over in one day. In the second match Hawke's Bay made 128 then dismissed Taranaki for 35 and 29. Hawke's Bay's matches remained low-scoring affairs. They did not reach a total of 200 until their 17th match in 1895–96, when they made 207 against Wellington in a drawn match. Their first individual century came in 1897–98, when Hugh Lusk made 119 against

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 ...

. However, low scores were the norm in New Zealand at the time: in the eight first-class matches in New Zealand in the 1897–98 season, only two centuries were scored, Lusk's and one by another Hawke's Bay batsman, Jack Wolstenholme. Hawke's Bay played 53 first-class matches, for 11 wins, 35 losses and seven draws. Twenty-four of those matches were against their neighbours, Wellington; Hawke's Bay won six of these and lost 14. They lost both their Plunket Shield matches (against Canterbury in 1914–15 and

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 ...

in 1920–21) by an innings.

Leading first-class players

Hugh Lusk made three of Hawke's Bay's five first-class centuries. He was by far Hawke's Bay's outstanding batsman: in 28 matches he scored 1395 runs at an average of 28.46, and also took 40 wickets at 22.85, as well as captaining the side in most of his matches and representing

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 highest first-class score for Hawke's Bay was 134 against Wellington in 1914–15 by

Jack Board John Henry Board (23 February 1867 – 15 April 1924) was an English cricketer who played in six Tests from 1899 to 1906. Jack Board was a wicketkeeper and a right-handed batsman who started out as a tail-ender but developed into a useful playe ...

, the English Test player who coached in Hawke's Bay for several seasons before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The best innings bowling figures were 9 for 47 by

Tom Dent Thomas Emmett Dent (born January 11, 1950) is an American politician who serves as a member of the Washington House of Representatives representing the 13th Legislative District. He was elected in 2014 to the House seat vacated by Judy Warnic ...

against Wellington in 1900–01, and the best match figures were 13 for 33 (7 for 20 and 6 for 13) by Charles Smith in the second match against Taranaki in 1891–92.

Since 1920–21

Along with Southland, Hawke's Bay lost their first-class status after the 1920–21 season, leaving just four first-class teams in New Zealand:

, Canterbury, Otago and

. In reorganising domestic first-class cricket, the

New Zealand Cricket Council 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 Z ...

chose only those teams that could afford to travel to take part in an annual round robin tournament for the

. In the 1920s Hawke's Bay played several overseas teams in non-first-class matches, including

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the MCC,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and the

Melbourne Cricket Club The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a sports club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia. The MCC is responsible for management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Groun ...

, all at Nelson Park. Hawke's Bay began competing in the Hawke Cup in the 1922–23 season. They have won the Hawke Cup 12 times. Their first victory was in 1946–47. They have dominated the competition in recent years, holding the title from February 2020 to November 2022, and from November 2023 through to the end of the 2023–24 season undefeated. In 1950–51 the

Central Districts cricket team 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 fir ...

began competing at first-class level in the Plunket Shield.

Tom Reaney Tom Reaney (11 August 1909 – 4 December 1994) was a New Zealand cricketer. He played in seven first-class matches for Wellington and Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class crick ...

from Hawke's Bay was in Central Districts' inaugural Plunket Shield team in December 1950. The Hawke's Bay Cricket Association is one of Central Districts' eight constituent associations. The eight associations compete against each other annually for the Chapple Cup and the Mike Shrimpton Trophy.

Grounds

Hawke's Bay played first-class matches on the following four home grounds: *

Recreation Ground A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

, Napier *

Farndon Park Farndon Park, also known as Farndon Park Domain, is a public park in Clive, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. It hosts many sporting events, including swimming, tennis, rugby union, and rowing on the adjacent Clive River. It was formerly also a cricke ...

, Clive *

Nelson Cricket Ground Nelson Cricket Ground was a cricket ground in Hastings, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. The first recorded match held on the ground came in February 1878 when Hawke's Bay played the touring Australians. The ''New Zealand Times'' referred to the mat ...

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

Nelson Park, Napier Nelson Park is a cricket ground in Napier, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. It is situated in Napier South, about 600 metres south-west of the Napier CBD, and about 200 metres north-west of Napier's main sports stadium, McLean Park. Establishment A ...

As well as Nelson Cricket Ground and Nelson Park, Hawke's Bay has also used the following grounds for Hawke Cup matches: *

McLean Park McLean Park is a sports ground in Napier, New Zealand, Napier, New Zealand. The two main sports played at the ground are cricket and rugby union. It is one of the largest List of cricket grounds in New Zealand, cricket grounds in New Zealand. ...

, Napier * Cornwall Park, Hastings * Anderson Park,

Havelock North Havelock North () is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local government saw it merg ...

* Forest Gate Domain, Ongaonga McLean Park has also been a regular home ground for

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 ...

since 1951–52, and has been used as a

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

ground since 1978–79. Nelson Park has also been used by Central Districts since 1985–86.

References

External links

First-class matches played by Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay Cricket Association website
{{New Zealand first-class cricket clubs 1852 establishments in New Zealand Cricket teams in New Zealand Cricket in Central Districts Sport in Hawke's Bay Former senior cricket clubs in New Zealand Cricket clubs established in 1852