Following the latest Government announcement on Alert Level restrictions, New Zealand Cricket has advised the following changes to the Plunket Shield and Hallyburton Johnstone Shield competitions.

Hallyburton Johnstone Shield

• The CENTRAL HINDS v Auckland Hearts fixtures on 13 & 14 November that were due to be played in Palmerston North have been postponed, and will be played later in the season.
• Instead, the Otago Sparks will now play the Central Hinds on those dates, 13 & 14 November, with the Hinds competing away at Dunedin’s University of Otago Oval
• Northern Districts' matches on the same dates have also been postponed

Plunket Shield

• The Auckland Aces v Otago Volts fixture set for 15-18 November at Eden Park – Kennards Hire Community Oval in Auckland, is now postponed
• The Northern Districts Men v Canterbury fixture set for 15-18 November at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui will go ahead as planned, with Northern Districts Men using players from districts outside the Waikato lockdown area
• A change to the Round 3 schedule was also confirmed last week, with the Stags to host the Otago Volts in Nelson in Round Three, instead of hosting the Auckland Aces in this fixture.

SO WHAT ABOUT THE POINTS...

To account for matches added to the original season schedules, an average points-per-game system will be implemented to determine the winners of Domestic competitions, if teams impacted by COVID-19 restrictions end up playing fewer matches than other teams. 

NZC’s COVID-19 Response Team will meet again next week to consider any further changes to the schedules.

Article added: Wednesday 03 November 2021