Season to start with white ball
New Zealand Cricket unveiled the domestic one-day schedules yesterday, confirming the men's and women's seasons will start with the Ford Trophy and Hallyburton Johnstone Shield respectively.
The Ford Trophy will get under way in October for the second season, after a successful shift to open the summer with the competition instead of the Plunket Shield last year, and the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield starts in November.
The Otago Volts meet defending Ford Trophy champions Canterbury away on October 25 to start the season.
They will host home games at the University Oval on November 3, February 4 and February 7.
They also host Canterbury at Queens Park in Invercargill on February 10, and Auckland in Queenstown on February 17.
The Sparks start their Hallyburton Johnstone defence at home with a doubleheader against the Auckland Hearts — whom they beat in the 2024-25 final — on November 15-16.
They have six games on the road before returning to Dunedin for the final two round robin games against Canterbury on February 14-15.
The Basin Reserve will host both one-day competition finals.
Ford Trophy's elimination final is scheduled for February 20 with the final on February 22. Hallyburton Johnstone's final is scheduled for February 21.
New Zealand Cricket operations officer Catherine Campbell said changing the order of the men's competitions was well received by players and coaches in 2024.
'It helped our domestic bowlers build up their bowling loads initially through one-day cricket, which better prepared them for the physical demands of four-day cricket later in the season.
'This season we've been able to again, with the Ford Trophy being played over the top of England's white-ball tour of New Zealand, and the Plunket Shield providing a good run-up into the West Indies test series."
The women's competition could benefit from the White Ferns returning from the Women's Cricket World Cup, which wraps up in India ahead of the domestic season.
"We'd expect many of those players to be available for HBJ. We are also playing another North v South series in the week leading up to Christmas, which adds a little extra context on performances," Campbell said.
The one-day competitions will again be split by the first half of the Plunket Shield and the Super Smash season.
The Plunket Shield draw will be released tomorrow and the T20 schedule will be announced on Monday. Otago cricket
One-day schedules
Ford Trophy: v Canterbury (away), Oct 25; v Auckland (away), Oct 30; v CD (home), Nov 3; v Wellington (away), Nov 8; v ND (away), Nov 12; v ND (home), Feb 4; v Wellington (home), Feb 7; v Canterbury (home), Feb 10, v CD (away) Feb 13, Auckland (home) Feb 17.
Hallyburton Johnstone Shield: v Auckland (home), Nov 15-16; v ND (away), Nov 29-30, v CD (away), Dec 13-14; Wellington (away), Feb 7-8; v Canterbury (home), Feb 14-15.
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