2018–19 Plunket Shield season explained

2018–19 Plunket Shield
Fromdate:	10 October 2018
Todate:	20 March 2019
Cricket Format:	First-class
Tournament Format:	Round-robin
Champions:	Central Districts
Count:	11
Participants:	6
Matches:	24
Most Runs:	Devon Conway (659)
Most Wickets:	Ish Sodhi (36)
Previous Year:	2017–18
Previous Tournament:	2017–18 Plunket Shield season
Next Year:	2019–20
Next Tournament:	2019–20 Plunket Shield season

The 2018–19 Plunket Shield was the 90th season of the Plunket Shield, the domestic first-class cricket competition in New Zealand. It took place between October 2018 and March 2019. Unlike the previous edition of the competition, the tournament featured eight rounds of matches, instead of ten.^{[1] [2] [3]} Central Districts were the defending champions.^[4] Up to eleven international players, including New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson, were available for the opening round of the tournament.^[5]

In the opening round of fixtures, in the match between Central Districts and Canterbury, both teams declared one of their innings for no runs, in a rain-affected match, to ensure that a result was possible.^{[6] [7]} The same situation also happened in round seven of the tournament, with Auckland declaring their first innings for no runs and Canterbury declaring their innings on 22/2 to get a result.^[8]

Ahead of the final round of fixtures, Central Districts had a fifteen point lead over Canterbury, needing just five more points to win the competition and retain their title.^[9] However, following the Christchurch mosque shootings, Canterbury withdrew from their final game, against Wellington, therefore Central Districts retained their title.^[10] It was the first time in more than fifty years that Central Districts had won back-to-back titles.^[11]

Points table

Team^[12]
Central Districts	8	5	2	1	0	106
Canterbury	8	4	2	1	1	85
Auckland	8	3	2	3	0	77
Northern Districts	8	3	2	3	0	72
Wellington	8	1	3	3	1	54
Otago	8	1	6	1	0	41

Champions

Fixtures

Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 3

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Round 4

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Round 5

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Round 6

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Round 7

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Round 8

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External links

• Series home at ESPN Cricinfo

Notes and References

1. Web site: New Zealand players reach revenue sharing agreement . ESPN Cricinfo . 26 July 2018.
2. Web site: NZ Cricket, Players' Association agree to 26.5 per cent revenue share in Master Agreement . Stuff . 26 July 2018.
3. Web site: Cricket: NZC, Players Association and Major Associations complete Master Agreement . New Zealand Herald . 26 July 2018.
4. Web site: Central Districts crowned Plunket Shield champions . 4 April 2018 . ESPN Cricinfo.
5. Web site: Williamson, Taylor, Boult to play first round of Plunket Shield . ESPN Cricinfo . 8 October 2018.
6. Web site: Central Stags claim final Canterbury wicket with six balls to play in Plunket Shield . Stuff . 13 October 2018.
7. Web site: Two 0-for-0 declarations and a penultimate-over finish . ESPN Cricinfo . 13 October 2018.
8. Web site: Central Stags close to Plunket Shield glory after beating Northern Districts . Stuff . 11 March 2019.
9. Web site: Canterbury overcome Auckland to send Plunket Shield down to the wire . Stuff . 12 March 2019.
10. Web site: Canterbury withdraw from final Plunket Shield match, handing CD title . Stuff . 17 March 2019.
11. Web site: After 51 years, Central Districts win back-to-back Plunket Shields . ESPN Cricinfo . 20 March 2019.
12. Web site: Plunket Shield 2018-19 . ESPN Cricinfo . 20 March 2019.