Central Stags
Top: Central Stags logo
Bottom: Central Stags Twenty20 emblem
Personnel
CaptainTom Bruce (Ford Trophy and Super Smash)
Greg Hay (Plunket Shield)
CoachGlenn Pocknall (Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy)
Ben Smith (Super Smash)
Team information
ColoursCS Green and gold
Founded1950
Home groundMcLean Park
Pukekura Park
Fitzherbert Park
Saxton Oval
Capacity19,700 (McLean Park)
History
Plunket Shield wins12
The Ford Trophy wins7
Men's Super Smash wins3
CLT20 wins0
Cricket Max wins1
Official websitecdcricket.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.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3]

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 [4] and moved to an alternate venue following Cyclone Gabrielle.

Honours

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

1984–85, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2014–15,[5] 2015–16, 2022-23

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.[6] Pukekura Park, Fitzherbert Park, McLean Park and Saxton Oval are regularly used for List A and T20 matches.[7][8]

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
15Dane Cleaver ‡ New Zealand1 January 1992Right-handedLeg breakCDCA contract
3Bayley Wiggins New Zealand3 September 1998Right-handedRight-arm mediumCDCA contract
Batsmen
4Will Young ‡ New Zealand22 November 1992Right-handedRight arm off breakNZC contract
42Tom Bruce ‡ New Zealand2 August 1991Right-handedRight arm off breakCDCA contract
24Greg Hay New Zealand14 July 1984Right-handedRight-arm off breakCDCA contract
9Ben Smith New Zealand7 January 1991Right-handedRight arm off break
14Brad Schmulian New Zealand3 August 1990Right-handedLeg breakCDCA contract
33Jack Boyle New Zealand24 March 1996Right-handedRight-arm off breakCDCA contract
2Curtis Heaphy New Zealand28 July 2003Right-handedCDCA contract
Allrounders
6Doug Bracewell ‡ New Zealand28 September 1990Right-handedRight-arm fast-mediumCDCA contract
22Josh Clarkson New Zealand21 January 1997Right-handedRight-arm mediumCDCA contract
7Will Clark New Zealand5 September 2001Right-handedRight-arm mediumCDCA contract
23Bevan Small New Zealand24 February 1992Right-handedRight-arm medium
Bowlers
12Seth Rance ‡ New Zealand23 August 1987Right-handedRight-arm fast-medium
13Blair Tickner ‡ New Zealand13 October 1993Right-handedRight-arm fast-mediumNZC contract
11Ray Toole New Zealand30 October 1997Left-handedLeft-arm fast-mediumCDCA contract
21Ajaz Patel ‡ New Zealand21 October 1988Left-handedSlow left-arm orthodoxCDCA contract
55Jayden Lennox New Zealand14 December 1994Left-handedSlow left-arm orthodoxCDCA contract
8Joey Field New Zealand19 December 2000Right-handedRight-arm fast-mediumCDCA contract
00Brett Randell New Zealand20 May 1995Right-handedRight-arm fast-mediumCDCA contract
32Liam Dudding New Zealand13 June 1994Right-handedRight-arm fast-mediumCDCA contract

Notable players

New Zealand


England

Sri Lanka

India

Canada

USA

Cook Islands


Records

See List of New Zealand first-class cricket records

References

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