Cricket: Top provincial players face 170 days of games

Photo / APN

The country's top provincial players face the prospect of 170 days of cricket over three different versions when the domestic season kicks off on November 7.

The domestic schedule was released yesterday and once again has the Plunket Shield first-class competition topping and tailing the summer. Its first four of 10 rounds are played before a switch to the 50-over format.

That goes through five of eight rounds before the heavily-promoted HRV Cup kicks in a week before Christmas. Once the one-day competition is completed in early February, the last six shield rounds complete the season, the last round due to finish on March 29.

Chopping and changing between formats is not ideal, but it has become the pattern, and with the desire to play the T20 games during the holiday period, the other competitions have to work around it.

Unlike last season, the entire T20 competition will have access to the country's international players.

New Zealand's first incoming tour of the summer, against Zimbabwe, does not start until late January, meaning the six provinces should have unimpeded access to their best players.

In November, some games will be played on neutral territory at Lincoln, half an hour outside Christchurch.

Two second-round Plunket Shield games from November 14-17, for example, are being played there, while Auckland may as well set up camp for a spell, as they have back-to-back games at Rangiora and Lincoln.

"The decision to host additional one-day and Plunket Shield matches in Canterbury will not only help save some travel costs but is also an opportunity for teams and coaches to network with each other and New Zealand Cricket specialist staff," NZC operations manager Tim Murdoch said.

The one-day format is over eight full rounds, with the top four teams to progress to preliminary finals. The Plunket Shield is a straight 10-round competition with no final, while the top two teams in the HRV Cup go to a final on January 22.

Auckland are defending both the one-day and HRV Cup titles, while Canterbury won the Plunket Shield last season.