Plunket Shield begins Saturday

Cricket tradition takes centre stage this weekend with a Plunket Shield fixture between the Canterbury Wizards and the Otago Volts getting the 2012-13 domestic season underway.

The opening match will take place at MainPower Oval in Rangiora on Saturday, while the Central Stags start their campaign this Sunday when they host the Wellington Firebirds at Nelson Park in Napier.

Current champions, the Northern Knights, will have to wait until Sunday 4 October to begin their title defence, with their first round match against the Auckland Aces taking place at Seddon Park in Hamilton.

There will be a total of 30 First-Class fixtures which will once again be split across the summer. The first 16 four-day matches will be played before Christmas, with the remaining 14 getting underway from late January.

Each team will face each other at home and away, with the coveted Plunket Shield awarded to the team which accumulates the most points at the conclusion of the round-robin.

Matches will be contested at 13 different venues, giving fans across the country plenty of opportunity to see top quality cricket.

All fixtures will be scored live on www.blackcaps.co.nz and the MA websites while Radio Sport will provide regular updates throughout the matches.

Full schedule: http://www.blackcaps.co.nz/schedule/plunket-shield/139/series.aspx
ENDS

First round of Plunket Shield

27/10/2012 - 30/10/2012: Canterbury Wizards v Otago Volts
MainPower Oval, Rangiora
10:30am start

28/10/2012 - 31/10/2012: Central Stags v Wellington Firebirds
Nelson Park, Napier
10:30am start

4/11/2012 - 7/11/2012: Central Stags v Auckland Aces
Nelson Park, Napier
10:30am start