All four Auckland and Northern Districts sides will miss the opening rounds of the domestic cricket season, due to Auckland being at alert Level 3.
Sean Solia and Will Somerville. Ford Trophy one day domestic cricket. Auckland Aces v Central Districts Stags at Eden Park Outer Oval. February 2021. Photo: Photosport Ltd 2021
The four-day Plunket Shield competition will begin on October 23rd but Auckland and Northern Districts won't join until November 7th.
The women's competition will start on October 30th, but Auckland, Northern Districts, Canterbury and Wellington won't begin their campaigns until November 6th.
Reigning Plunket Shield champions Canterbury get the season underway on Saturday October 23rd, hosting Central Districts at Hagley Oval, while at the Basin Reserve, Wellington host Otago.
Central Districts and Otago kick-start the women's Hallyburton Johnston Shield season on October 30th and 31st at Saxon Oval.
The games will be the first women's domestic matches to be played in Nelson.
The Auckland men's team need to wait until round three to begin their Plunket Shield season on Sunday November 7th.
Their round one clash against Northern Districts and round two fixture with Canterbury have been postponed, with details of all rescheduled matches to be confirmed by New Zealand Cricket at a later date.
Last season's women's finalists Auckland and defending champions Canterbury will likewise make delayed starts to their campaigns, that will begin with a double header weekend in Rangiora on November 6th and 7th.
Northern Districts women have five players based in Auckland and therefore will also open their summer on the same weekend (November 6 and 7) against Wellington, at Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval.
Canterbury will be out to defend their unprecedented haul of four trophies last season, with only the T20 Super Smash men's title having eluded them last summer.
GM of Cricket Operations for NZC, Catherine Campbell, acknowledged the complexity of organising this season's fixtures in the midst of a Covid 19 Delta outbreak.
"It's certainly been a challenge," she said.
"I'd like to thank all six Major Associations and their teams, along with the CPA, for their assistance and cooperation.
"We've had to adopt a flexible approach to permit players to perform at their best and maximise playing opportunities - whilst of course complying with Government requirements, and ensuring the health and well-being of all participants are protected.
"The schedule has been changing right up to yesterday, and may well change again if Auckland's Level 3 Lockdown continues. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it - we're confident we have room in the schedule to make up matches as desired."
A new feature of the men's Ford Trophy one-day competition this season will see the first four rounds (12 matches) played as weekday fixtures in between Super Smash weekends, providing white-ball continuity for players.
NZC has confirmed the Super Smash will be predominantly played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays this season, with details of the T20 calendar to be revealed in coming weeks.
Entering its 51st summer, The Ford Trophy season will start on November 30, and finish on February 26.
The Hallyburton Johnstone Shield Final will be held on February 19, while the eighth round of four-day Plunket Shield action will begin on March 28 to close the scheduled season.
Campbell said the March 31 end date would allow the option to reschedule lockdown-affected Auckland matches in a viable early April window.
