# 2018–19 Plunket Shield season

The 2018–19 Plunket Shield was the 90th season of the Plunket Shield, the domestic first-class cricket competition in New Zealand. It took place between October 2018 and March 2019. Unlike the previous edition of the competition, the tournament featured eight rounds of matches, instead of ten. Central Districts were the defending champions. Up to eleven international players, including New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson, were available for the opening round of the tournament.
In the opening round of fixtures, in the match between Central Districts and Canterbury, both teams declared one of their innings for no runs, in a rain-affected match, to ensure that a result was possible. The same situation also happened in round seven of the tournament, with Auckland declaring their first innings for no runs and Canterbury declaring their innings on 22/2 to get a result.
Ahead of the final round of fixtures, Central Districts had a fifteen point lead over Canterbury, needing just five more points to win the competition and retain their title. However, following the Christchurch mosque shootings, Canterbury withdrew from their final game, against Wellington, therefore Central Districts retained their title. It was the first time in more than fifty years that Central Districts had won back-to-back titles.

## Points table

| Team | Pld | W | L | D | Ab | Pts |
| Central Districts | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 106 |
| Canterbury | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 85 |
| Auckland | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 77 |
| Northern Districts | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 72 |
| Wellington | 8 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 54 |
| Otago | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 41 |
Champions

## Fixtures
### Round 1

* 10–13 October 2018 Scorecard
* Central Districts won by 145 runs Saxton Oval, Nelson Umpires: Billy Bowden and John Bromley
* Canterbury won the toss and elected to field.
* No play was possible on days 2 and 3 due to rain.
* 10–13 October 2018 Scorecard
* Northern Districts won by 8 wickets Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui Umpires: Derek Walker and Tim Parlane
* Northern Districts won the toss and elected to field.
* 10–13 October 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Basin Reserve, Wellington Umpires: Tony Gillies and Ashley Mehrotra
* Auckland won the toss and elected to field.
* No play was possible on day 3 due to rain.
* Andrew Fletcher (Wellington) and Graeme Beghin (Auckland) both made their first-class debuts.

### Round 2

* 17–20 October 2018 Scorecard
* Central Districts won by 151 runs Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland Umpires: Wayne Knights and Tony Gillies
* Auckland won the toss and elected to field.
* 17–20 October 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Hagley Oval, Christchurch Umpires: Billy Bowden and Shaun Haig
* Canterbury won the toss and elected to field.
* Jack Boyle (Canterbury) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.
* 17–20 October 2018 Scorecard
* Wellington won by an innings and 101 runs Basin Reserve, Wellington Umpires: Chris Brown and Derek Walker
* Otago won the toss and elected to field.

### Round 3

* 6–9 December 2018 Scorecard
* Northern Districts won by 98 runs Seddon Park, Hamilton Umpires: Ashley Mehrotra and Tim Parlane
* Wellington won the toss and elected to field.
* Jakob Bhula and Ben Sears (Wellington) both made their first-class debuts.
* 6–9 December 2018 Scorecard
* Central Districts won by an innings and 84 runs Molyneux Park, Alexandra Umpires: Derek Walker and John Bromley
* Central Districts won the toss and elected to bat.
* Camden Hawkins, Ben Lockrose (Otago) and Dean Foxcroft (Central Districts) all made their first-class debuts.
* 6–9 December 2018 Scorecard
* Auckland won by 4 wickets Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland Umpires: Billy Bowden and Tony Gillies
* Auckland won the toss and elected to field.

### Round 4

* 14–17 December 2018 Scorecard
* Auckland won by 9 wickets Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland Umpires: Billy Bowden and Ashley Mehrotra
* Auckland won the toss and elected to field.
* 14–17 December 2018 Scorecard
* Match drawn Saxton Oval, Nelson Umpires: Eugene Sanders and Wayne Knights
* Wellington won the toss and elected to field.
* 14–17 December 2018 Scorecard
* Canterbury won by 9 wickets University Oval, Dunedin Umpires: Shaun Haig and Tim Parlane
* Otago won the toss and elected to bat.

### Round 5

* 21–24 February 2019 Scorecard
* Canterbury won by 2 wickets Mainpower Oval, Rangiora Umpires: Garth Stirrat and Tim Parlane
* Central Districts won the toss and elected to bat.
* Todd Astle became the leading wicket-taker for Canterbury.
* Stephen Murdoch (Canterbury) scored his 5,000th run in the Plunket Shield.
* 21–24 February 2019 Scorecard
* Match drawn Basin Reserve, Wellington Umpires: Michael Graham-Smith and Billy Bowden
* Northern Districts won the toss and elected to field.
* No play was possible on day 4 due to rain.
* 21–24 February 2019 Scorecard
* Auckland won by an innings and 97 runs Eden Park Outer Oval, Auckland Umpires: John Dempsey and Ruchira Palliyaguruge
* Otago won the toss and elected to field.
* Tommy Clout (Otago) made his first-class debut.

### Round 6

* 1–4 March 2019 Scorecard
* Canterbury won by 9 wickets Hagley Oval, Christchurch Umpires: John Bromley and Tony Gillies
* Wellington won the toss and elected to field.
* 1–4 March 2019 Scorecard
* Central Districts won by an innings and 5 runs McLean Park, Napier Umpires: Billy Bowden and John Dempsey
* Central Districts won the toss and elected to bat.
* Max Chu (Otago) made his first-class debut.
* 1–4 March 2019 Scorecard
* Match drawn Cobham Oval, Whangārei Umpires: Chris Brown and Tim Parlane
* Auckland won the toss and elected to bat.

### Round 7

* 9–12 March 2019 Scorecard
* Otago won by 3 wickets University Oval, Dunedin Umpires: Derek Walker and John Bromley
* Wellington won the toss and elected to bat.
* 9–12 March 2019 Scorecard
* Canterbury won by 80 runs Mainpower Oval, Rangiora Umpires: Wayne Knights and Tony Gillies
* Auckland won the toss and elected to field.
* 9–12 March 2019 Scorecard
* Central Districts won by 1 wicket McLean Park, Napier Umpires: Ashley Mehrotra and Tim Parlane
* Northern Districts won the toss and elected to bat.

### Round 8

* 17–20 March 2019 Scorecard
* Northern Districts won by 142 runs Seddon Park, Hamilton Umpires: Wayne Knights and Ashley Mehrotra
* Northern Districts won the toss and elected bat.
* 17–20 March 2019 Scorecard
* Match drawn University Oval, Dunedin Umpires: Billy Bowden and Shaun Haig
* Auckland won the toss and elected to field.
* William O'Donnell (Auckland) made his first-class debut.
* Mitch Renwick (Otago) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.
* Graeme Beghin (Auckland) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.
* 17–20 March 2019 Scorecard
* Match cancelled Basin Reserve, Wellington Umpires: Derek Walker and Tim Parlane
* No toss.
* The match was cancelled following the Christchurch mosque shootings.