Central Districts cricket team

(Redirected from Central Districts Stags) New Zealand cricket team "Central Districts" redirects here. For the Australian Rules Football team, see Central District Football Club. For the Central Districts women's cricket team, see Central Hinds.

Central Stags
Personnel
Top: Central Stags logo Bottom: Central Stags Twenty20 emblem
Captain	Tom Bruce (Super Smash and Plunket Shield) Jayden Lennox (Ford Trophy)
Coach	Glenn Pocknall (Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy) Ben Smith (Super Smash)
Team information
Colours	Green and gold
Founded	1950
Home ground	McLean Park Pukekura Park Fitzherbert Park Saxton Oval
Capacity	19,700 (McLean Park)
History
Plunket Shield wins	12
The Ford Trophy wins	7
Men's Super Smash wins	3
CLT20 wins	0
Cricket Max wins	2
Official website	cdcricket.co.nz

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 first-class competition, The Ford Trophy domestic one-day competition and the Men's Super Smash Twenty20 competition. They are one of six teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. They were the fifth of the current teams to compete in the Plunket Shield, which they entered for the first time in the 1950/51 season.

History

Central Districts comprises eight District associations: Hawke's Bay, Horowhenua-Kapiti, Manawatu, Taranaki, Wairarapa and Whanganui in the North Island, and Marlborough and Nelson in the South Island. Previously, many players from these regions competed for Wellington. More than a century before the eventual founding of the Central Districts Cricket Association, the first fully recorded cricket match in New Zealand was played in what is now one of its districts, in Nelson, a men's match in March 1844.

Between October 2016 and February 2019, the team set a new Central Districts record for the number of consecutive first-class matches without a defeat, with 21. The previous Central Stags record in the Plunket Shield was 12, while the New Zealand record for most consecutive domestic first-class matches without a loss is 24, set by Wellington (now known as the Wellington Firebirds) between 1984/85 and 1986/87.

Retired top order batsman Peter Ingram holds the record for the highest individual first-class score for the Central Stags with an innings of 247 in 2008/09, and also scored their second highest individual score with 245 not out in 2009/10.

The New Zealand T20 all wickets partnership record is also held by Peter Ingram, having put on 201 for the first wicket with Jamie How at Pukekura Park in 2011/12 against Wellington.

How and Jeet Raval share the New Zealand Domestic List A partnership record of 321, set against Northern Districts at Seddon Park in 2012/13, a match in which How became the first player to score a Ford Trophy double century, reaching his hundred in 49 balls and breaking the record that was held by retired Canterbury batsman Peter Fulton.

One of New Zealand's greatest batsmen, Ross Taylor, played for the Central Stags. He made his first-class debut for the team as an 18-year-old on 9 January 2003. In 2021/22 at Pukekura Park, Taylor broke the record for the fastest Ford Trophy century, reaching his hundred in 49 balls, breaking the national record that had been held by retired Canterbury batsman Peter Fulton. Taylor played his final match for the Stags in 2022/23.

In 2017, Brad Schmulian hit the highest score by any New Zealand cricketer on first-class debut with an innings of 203 for the Central Stags against Northern Districts at Bay Oval. The previous record had stood since the late 19th century.

In 2010, Kieran Noema-Barnett set a New Zealand record for the fastest T20 half century, off just 18 balls. In the 2016 Ford Trophy Grand Final, another Central Stags batsman, Tom Bruce, added the record for the fastest one-day half century in New Zealand with his 50 coming off 16 balls.

Two batsmen named Ben Smith have played for the Central Stags. Adding to the confusion, both Ben Smith and Ben Smith have scored a first-class double century for the team.

Among New Zealand's premier cricketing schools to have produced many Central Stags players are New Plymouth Boys' High School, Palmerston North Boys' High, Napier Boys' High School, Nelson College, Waimea College, Marlborough Boys' College and Whanganui Collegiate.

The CEO of Central Districts Cricket Association is a former Central Stags player, Lance Hamilton. In September 2019 former CEO Pete de Wet announced that CDCA had signed renowned international coach Mickey Arthur as the Central Stags T20 coach for the 2019/20 Super Smash season, however Arthur was granted a contract release before the competition began.

In 2019/20, the team had a chance to become the first team since 1940 to win the Plunket Shield for three seasons in a row. However, the team was second on the table when the final two rounds of the eight-match season were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Plunket Shield was awarded to the Wellington cricket team, whom they had been about to play at McLean Park, with the Stags declared runners-up.

In 2022/23, the team won the first-class Plunket Shield and the List A one-day Ford Trophy in the same season for the first time. The team had previously done the first-class and T20 double in 2019. The team achieved this after both the Ford Trophy Grand Final and the decisive match of the Plunket Shield had been postponed and moved to an alternate venue following Cyclone Gabrielle.

Honours

Plunket Shield (11)

1953–54, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1986–87, 1991–92, 1998–99, 2005–06, 2012–13, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2022–23

The Ford Trophy (6)

1984–85, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2022-23

Men's Super Smash (3)

2007–08, 2009–10, 2018–19

Grounds

Current

Since 2014–15, Central Districts have used McLean Park, Nelson Park, Napier, Fitzherbert Park and Saxton Oval for first-class matches. Pukekura Park, Fitzherbert Park, McLean Park and Saxton Oval are regularly used for List A and T20 matches.

Former

Current squad

No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
‡ denotes players with international caps.

No.	Name	Nationality	Birth date	Batting style	Bowling style	Notes
Wicketkeeper
15	Dane Cleaver ‡	New Zealand	(1992-01-01) 1 January 1992 (age 32)	Right-handed	Leg break	CDCA contract
3	Bayley Wiggins	New Zealand	(1998-09-03) 3 September 1998 (age 26)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Batsmen
33	Jack Boyle	New Zealand	(1996-03-24) 24 March 1996 (age 28)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	CDCA contract
42	Tom Bruce ‡	New Zealand	(1991-08-02) 2 August 1991 (age 33)	Right-handed	Right arm off break	CDCA contract
2	Curtis Heaphy	New Zealand	(2003-07-28) 28 July 2003 (age 21)	Right-handed		CDCA contract
2	Mason Hughes	New Zealand	(1998-03-22) 22 March 1998 (age 26)	Left-handed		CDCA contract
14	Brad Schmulian	New Zealand	(1990-08-03) 3 August 1990 (age 34)	Right-handed	Leg break	CDCA contract
9	Ben Smith	New Zealand	(1991-01-07) 7 January 1991 (age 33)	Right-handed	Right arm off break
4	Will Young ‡	New Zealand	(1992-11-22) 22 November 1992 (age 32)	Right-handed	Right arm off break	NZC contract
Allrounders
6	Doug Bracewell ‡	New Zealand	(1990-09-28) 28 September 1990 (age 34)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
7	Will Clark	New Zealand	(2001-09-05) 5 September 2001 (age 23)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	CDCA contract
22	Josh Clarkson	New Zealand	(1997-01-21) 21 January 1997 (age 27)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	NZC contract
77	Angus Schaw	New Zealand	(1994-03-14) 14 March 1994 (age 30)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	CDCA contract
23	Bevan Small	New Zealand	(1992-02-24) 24 February 1992 (age 32)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Bowlers
17	Tyler Annand	New Zealand	(2004-04-16) 16 April 2004 (age 20)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	CDCA contract
8	Joey Field	New Zealand	(2000-12-19) 19 December 2000 (age 24)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	CDCA contract
-	Toby Findlay	New Zealand	(2003-06-21) 21 June 2003 (age 21)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	CDCA contract
55	Jayden Lennox	New Zealand	(1994-12-14) 14 December 1994 (age 30)	Left-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox	CDCA contract
21	Ajaz Patel ‡	New Zealand	(1988-10-21) 21 October 1988 (age 36)	Left-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox	NZC contract
00	Brett Randell	New Zealand	(1995-05-20) 20 May 1995 (age 29)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	CDCA contract
00	Ewald Schreuder	New Zealand	(2005-04-12) 12 April 2005 (age 19)	Right-handed	Left-arm fast-medium	CDCA contract
13	Blair Tickner ‡	New Zealand	(1993-10-13) 13 October 1993 (age 31)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	CDCA contract
11	Ray Toole	New Zealand	(1997-10-30) 30 October 1997 (age 27)	Left-handed	Left-arm fast-medium	CDCA contract

Notable players

Main article: List of Central Districts representative cricketers

New Zealand

England

Sri Lanka

Mahela Jayawardena

India

Canada

Geoff Barnett (cricketer)

USA

Marty Kain

Cook Islands

Ma'ara Ave

Records

See List of New Zealand first-class cricket records

References

Central Districts Cricket Association – Districts Archived 5 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 January 2006
"Mickey Arthur to Coach Central Stags". Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
"Plunket Shield cancelled: Wellington declared winners". www.nzc.nz. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020.
"Ford Trophy Final postponed". www.nzc.nz.
"Andrew Mathieson has a field day as Central Stags win national one-day cricket final". February 2015.
"First-Class Matches played by Central Districts". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
"List A Matches played by Central Districts". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
"Twenty20 Matches played by Central Districts". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 January 2021.

External links

Official website

v t e Cricket in New Zealand
Governing body	New Zealand Cricket
National Teams	Men Women M U-19 W U-19 New Zealand A Māori
Men's Domestic Teams	Auckland Canterbury Central Districts Northern Districts Otago Wellington
Women's Domestic Teams	Auckland Hearts Canterbury Magicians Central Hinds Northern Districts Otago Sparks Wellington Blaze
Domestic Competitions	Plunket Shield (Men's First-class) Ford Trophy (Men's List A) Men's Super Smash (Men's Twenty20) Hallyburton Johnstone Shield (Women's One-day) Women's Super Smash (Women's Twenty20) Hawke Cup
Test & ODI Grounds	Hagley Oval, Christchurch Basin Reserve, Wellington Eden Park, Auckland McLean Park, Napier Seddon Park, Hamilton University Oval, Dunedin Wellington Regional Stadium Queenstown Events Centre Cobham Oval, Whangarei Bay Oval, Tauranga
Player lists	Test cricketers Test wicket-keepers ODI cricketers Twenty20 Players Captains Auckland Canterbury Central Districts Northern Districts Otago Wellington
Records	Test ODI T20I Women's ODI Women's T20I
Series lists	Australia (Chappell–Hadlee Trophy Trans-Tasman Trophy)
History	to 1890 1882–83 1890–91 to 1918 1918–19 to 1945 1945–46 to 1970 1970–71 to 2000 from 2000–01

v t e New Zealand first-class cricket teams
Current first-class teams	Auckland Canterbury Central Districts Northern Districts men women Otago Wellington
Former first-class teams	Central Conference Hawke's Bay Minor Associations Nelson New Zealand Under-23s North Island Northern Conference South Island Southern Conference Southland Taranaki West Coast (North Island)

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