New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield.^[1]

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Plunket Shield

Countries	New Zealand
Administrator	New Zealand Cricket
Format	First-class cricket
First edition	1906–1907; 117 years ago (1907)
Latest edition	2023-24
Next edition	2024-25
Tournament format	Round-robin
Number of teams	6
Current champion	Wellington (22nd title)
Most successful	Auckland (24 titles)
Most runs	Matthew Sinclair (9,148)
Most wickets	Stephen Boock (399)
2023–24 Plunket Shield season

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The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in October 1906 with the donation of a shield by William Plunket, 5th Baron Plunket,^[2] who was the Governor-General of New Zealand from 1904 to 1910. For the 1906–07 inaugural season, the Shield was allotted by the New Zealand Cricket Council "to the Association whose representative team it considers to have the best record for the season".^[3] After the Council awarded the Shield to Canterbury, chiefly because Canterbury were the only provincial team to beat the visiting MCC, Auckland representatives complained that Auckland should have received the Shield as their team was superior but had not had the chance to prove it as none of the other provincial teams had played Auckland during the season.^[4]

Beginning with the 1907–08 season, the competition was decided by challenge matches among Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago and, on two occasions, Hawke's Bay. Auckland defeated Canterbury by an innings in the first challenge match in December 1907.^[5]

A proposal in 1912 that the Shield should be decided by an inter-provincial tournament rather than by the challenge system was rejected as impracticable at the time.^[6] However, starting with the 1921–22 season, the four principal teams (minus Hawke's Bay, which lost first-class status) played each other in a single round-robin series of matches.^[7] Central Districts entered the competition in 1950–51, and Northern Districts in 1956–57.

Points are awarded at the conclusion of each match during the season. With no final, the team with the most points is declared the champion. The points system for the 2019/20 season is as follows

• Won: 12 points
• Lost: 0 points
• Draw: 0 points
• Tie: 6 points
• One-innings match won (match that started with 10 hours or less playing time remaining): 6 points
• One-innings match tie: 3 points
• Abandoned (without a ball bowled) / No result (drawn one-innings match): 2 points
• Batting points: First Innings only up to 110 overs – first point at 200 runs, second point at 250 runs, third point at 300 runs, fourth point at 350 runs
• Bowling points: First Innings only up to 110 overs – first point at 3 wickets, second point at 5 wickets, third point at 7 wickets, fourth point at 9 wickets

The holders of the shield during its "challenge match" period to 1921 were:

From the 1921–22 season the competition has been run on a round robin format.

• The Ford Trophy
• Hallyburton Johnstone Shield
• Men's Super Smash
• Women's Super Smash