The Bay of Plenty cricket team represents the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

region of New Zealand. It is one of the 21 teams from around New Zealand that compete in the

Hawke Cup The Hawke Cup is a non-first-class cricket competition for New Zealand's district associations. Apart from 1910–11, 1912–13 and 2000–01 the competition has always been on a challenge basis. To win the Hawke Cup, the challengers must beat ...

History

Cricket has been played in the Bay of Plenty region since the 1860s and possibly earlier. A Tauranga Cricket Club was formed in 1868. A Bay of Plenty team, consisting of players from

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

Ōpōtiki Ōpōtiki (; from ''Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti'') is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Ōpōtiki District Council, the mayor of Ōpōtiki and comes under the Bay of Plenty Region ...

and

Katikati Katikati is a town in New Zealand's North Island, located on the Uretara Stream near a tidal inlet towards the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, 28 kilometres south of Waihi and 40 kilometres northwest of Tauranga. State Highway 2 passes throug ...

, visited

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

to play against four club teams over four days in December 1881. The current Bay of Plenty Cricket Association, the first to cover the whole region, was formed in August 1931. It was the 23rd association to become affiliated with the New Zealand Cricket Council, and thus became eligible to compete in the

. Bay of Plenty were outclassed in their first challenges for the Hawke Cup, losing by wide margins to South Auckland in March 1932 and to Waikato (the renamed South Auckland team) in December 1938. Bay of Plenty hosted an international touring team for the first time in February 1936 when the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

played them in a one-day match at Rotorua. The Rigden Shield was inaugurated in 1944–45 for matches between Bay of Plenty and Poverty Bay. Bay of Plenty won and held the Shield for the first two years. Northern Districts, of which Bay of Plenty is one of the constituent associations, began playing in the

Plunket Shield 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. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octo ...

in 1956–57. The first Bay of Plenty player to represent Northern Districts in the Plunket Shield was Des Ferrow, who played in three matches in 1956–57 and one in 1957–58. The second was Maurice Langdon, who began a 25-match career for Northern Districts in 1957–58. Cricket in the Bay of Plenty developed as the population increased in the second half of the 20th century. Bay of Plenty won the Hawke Cup for the first time in 1985–86, captained by the

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

player Andy Roberts, who scored 117 in the victory over

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

. The next season, after relinquishing the title to Hawke's Bay, Bay of Plenty became the first team to lose and regain the Hawke Cup in the same season when they beat Hawke's Bay again. Since then, Bay of Plenty have won the title in 1996–97, 2012–13 and 2015–16. They hold the record for the highest team score in the Hawke Cup: 701, which they have reached twice – in 2013 and 2017. The Bay of Plenty Cricket Association set up the Bay of Plenty Cricket Trust (now called the Bay Oval Trust) in 2009 to develop the team's home ground,

Bay Oval Bay Oval is a cricket ground in Mount Maunganui, Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty area of New Zealand. The ground was built in Blake Park and opened in 2005. Bay Oval has hosted men's and women's international limited overs matches since 2014. It ...

Mount Maunganui Mount Maunganui (, ) is a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of Tauranga located on a peninsula to the north-east of Tauranga's city centre. It was an independent town from Tauranga until the completion of the Tauranga Harb ...

. While it remains Bay of Plenty's home ground, it is also one of Northern Districts' grounds, and is now also an international venue, staging its first Test match in November 2019. Bay of Plenty and the other five Northern Districts association teams compete each season in two-day matches for the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl. The winner has the right to challenge for the Hawke Cup. Bay of Plenty also compete in the Brian Dunning Cup, the 50-over competition among the six teams.

Structure

Three sub-associations make up the Bay of Plenty regional association: Rotorua Cricket Association, centred in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

, Taupo Cricket Association, centred in

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town located in the central North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the edge of Lake Taupō, which is the largest freshwater lake in New Zealand. Taupō was constituted as a borough in 1953. It h ...

, and Western Bay of Plenty Cricket Association, centred in Tauranga. Eastern Bay of Plenty, formerly with three clubs, currently consists of only one club, Whakatane.

References

{{Reflist Cricket teams in New Zealand Cricket in Northern Districts Sport in the Bay of Plenty Region Sports organizations established in 1931