Overview The Auckland Cricket Association is the most successful major association in New Zealand cricket history. Auckland have won the
Plunket Shield 28 times, including a four-year winning streak between 1936 and 1940. The large population base that Auckland have to pick from has contributed to the team's success and produced a large number of the national team's players. Since the introduction of
List A cricket in the 1970s, Auckland have won twelve
one-day competitions with the most recent in the 2021/22 season.
Early years Auckland were the first New Zealand team to visit another province, travelling to
Wellington to play
Wellington in a one-day match in March 1860, which Auckland won. The Auckland Cricket Association was founded in 1873. Auckland played their first
first-class game against
Canterbury the same year. They were the third major association founded in New Zealand after Canterbury and
Otago, and just before Wellington. The match against Canterbury was part of the first tour undertaken by a New Zealand provincial team, when over three weeks in November and December 1873 Auckland played in
Dunedin,
Christchurch, Wellington and
Nelson, winning all four matches. It was not until 1906-07 that the team first competed in structured competition after the donation of the
Plunket Shield by the then
Governor-General,
William Plunket. In the first season of the challenge competition, in 1907–08, Auckland defeated Canterbury to win their first title. They held the Plunket Shield several times between 1908 and 1921, when the competition was changed to a
round-robin format.
'Golden years' The 1920s and 1930s are often known as the golden years of Auckland cricket. The team won seven Plunket Shield titles, four of them in consecutive years. As well as local success in the 1920s Auckland produced some of the early greats of New Zealand cricket such as
Jack Mills and
Ces Dacre. The region kept producing high-calibre players in the 1930s like
Merv Wallace,
Paul Whitelaw,
Bill Carson and
Jack Cowie. Whitelaw and Carson also secured themselves a personal honour with a then
world record partnership for the third wicket against Canterbury (this record is now held by
Kumar Sangakkara and
Mahela Jayawardene). Auckland cricket was developing fast and producing a number of world-renowned players, but
World War II saw the Plunket Shield suspended and many promising cricketers shipped overseas. A number of these players died whilst serving the armed services overseas including
double All Black Bill Carson.
After the War After Auckland won the Plunket Shield in 1947, the competition became more even, with Otago and Wellington dominating the next decade of competition. Also in the 1950s
Central Districts and
Northern Districts entered the competition. This period is not known for the success of Auckland, but for the astonishing performances of individuals. In a 1951 game against Canterbury, Merv Wallace remarkably steered the team to victory under extreme circumstances. Wallace broke a bone whilst fielding in Canterbury's first innings and came in at number nine in the batting order. He smashed 60 as he led the tail in a remarkable fightback that saw Auckland gain first innings by one run. If not impressive enough Wallace also pulled a calf muscle when on 26 going for a hook shot. In the second innings Auckland required six runs with six wickets in hand. Wallace did not expect to bat and was dressed casually ready to celebrate with his teammates. Following a monumental collapse he only had time to put his whites on over the top as he came to the wicket with Auckland nine down and needing one run to win. He hit the winning run off his first ball, cementing his place as an immortal in Auckland and New Zealand cricket history. In September 2018, they were one of the six teams invited to play in the first edition of the Abu Dhabi T20 Trophy, scheduled to start in October 2018. ==Champions League Twenty 20 ==