2025/26 Plunket Shield: Round Five Basics
Northern Districts were too slick for Auckland in an away win, while there were draws between Central Districts and Wellington in Napier as well Canterbury and Otago in Christchurch.
Auckland
Loss vs Northern Districts | 2-2-1 | 2nd | 55 points
Best Performers vs Northern Districts
Sean Solia: 79 runs
Lachlan Stackpole: 74 runs
Simon Keene: 41 runs | 1w @ 4rpo | 67 runs
Ben Lister: 3w @ 1.8rpo | 2w @ 4.1rpo
Best Performers This Season
Simon Keene: 387 runs @ 48.3avg/77sr | 15w @ 29.4avg/3.3rpo
Cameron Fletcher: 384 runs @ 48avg/44sr
Bevon Jacobs: 383 runs @ 42.5avg/79sr
Lachlan Stackpole: 356 runs @ 39.5avg/108sr
Rohit Gulati: 24w @ 26.1avg/2.9rpo
Notebook
Ben Lister has a First-Class bowling record of 25.5avg/2.7rpo. He has a wicket in all four innings bowled this season.
Sean Solia's 79 runs is his only 50+ score in his last 10 games.
Rohit Gulati is the leading wicket-taker in Plunket Shield and one of two bowlers with 20+ wickets. He is averaging below 29 in all three formats.
Simon Keene is 10th for runs in Plunket Shield and seventh for wickets. He averages 32 with bat and ball in FC cricket.
20-year-old Lachlan Stackpole is the only batter with a strike-rate over 100 in Plunket Shield and is the only batter over 90sr. Two other batters are above 80sr and they have scored less than 150 runs each while Stackpole's on 356 runs.
Northern Districts
Win vs Auckland | 3-1-1 | 1st | 65 points
Best Performers vs Auckland
Zak Gibson: 3w @ 3.1rpo | 3w @ 2.2rpo
Scott Kuggeleijn: 3w @ 6.1rpo | 3w @ 2.5rpo
Joshua Brown: 3w @ 4rpo
Kristian Clarke: 1w @ 5.7rpo | 41 runs | 3w @ 1rpo | 21*
Jeet Raval: 67 runs
Bharat Popli: 58 runs
Henry Cooper: 63 runs
Best Performers This Season
Henry Cooper: 558 runs @ 73.5avg/51sr
Joe Carter: 420 runs @ 52.5avg/48sr
Bharat Popli: 388 runs @ 43.1avg/57sr
Jeet Raval: 382 runs @ 42.5avg/44sr
Kristian Clarke: 212 runs @ 42.4avg/59sr | 11w @ 34.2avg/3rpo
Tim Pringle: 20w @ 27avg/2.5rpo
Joshua Brown: 15w @ 30avg/3.2rpo
Zak Gibson: 13w @ 21.3avg/2.7rpo
Notebook
ND's batting core in FC cricket...
Jeet Raval: 38.1avg/48sr
Henry Cooper: 35.5avg/48sr
Bharat Popli: 40.4avg/49sr
Joe Carter: 35avg/50sr
Rob O'Donnell: 35avg/52sr
Zak Gibson also had 10w @ 21.4avg/4rpo in Ford Trophy and 7w @ 15.4avg/7.7rpo in Super Smash this season. He has wickets in at least nine consecutive innings across all three formats.
Kristian Clarke has hit the most sixes (6) for ND in Plunket Shield this season. Including two ODIs with 3w, Clarke has taken 3w in three of his last six innings bowled.
Tim Pringle joins Gulati in taking 20+ wickets this season and both are lefties. Pringle (2.5rpo) is slightly more economical than Gulati (2.9rpo) and is now averaging 34.5 in FC bowling.
Central Districts
Draw vs Wellington | 2-1-2 | 5th | 45 points
Best Performers vs Wellington
Brad Schmulian: 4w @ 2.2rpo | 117 runs
Brett Randell: 1w @ 3.5rpo | 66 runs | 1w @ 4rpo
Ray Toole: 2w @ 4.1rpo | 3w @ 2.4rpo
Best Performers This Season
Brad Schmulian: 593 runs @ 74.1avg/64sr
Curtis Heaphy: 423 runs @ 60.4avg/45sr
Dean Foxcroft: 293 runs @ 41.8avg/72sr
Ray Toole: 16w @ 31avg/3.4rpo
Josh Clarkson: 13w @ 31.3avg/3.6rpo
Notebook
Brad Schmulian is the leading run-scorer in Plunket Shield. He is now averaging 41.8 in FC batting and 46.2 in List-A batting.
Brett Randell has five 50+ scores in FC batting and averages 25.8 with the ball.
Ray Toole has taken wickets in five consecutive innings with 2+ wickets in four of them. He averages 28.8 in FC bowling and below 32 in all three formats as a lefty seamer.
Wellington
Draw vs Wellington | 0-4-1 | 6th | 26 points
Best Performers vs Central Districts
Nick Greenwood: 143 runs
Jesse Tashkoff: 109 runs
Nathan Smith: 39 runs | 4w @ 3.5rpo | 62*
James Hartshorn: 3w @ 3.4rpo
Best Performers This Season
Nick Kely: 433 runs @ 43.3avg/58sr
Tim Robinson: 393 runs @ 49.1avg/74sr
Jesse Tashkoff: 310 runs @ 38.7avg/79sr
Liam Dudding: 13w @ 24.2avg/2.9rpo
Notebook
Nick Greenwood hit his first FC century and has a FC batting record of 27.3avg/52sr.
Jesse Tashkoff hit his second FC century and has a FC batting record of 34.6avg/73sr.
Nathan Smith took 4w in an ODI vs West Indies and then had four consecutive games without a wicket in Ford Trophy. He has since taken a wicket in four consecutive games and that includes four consecutive innings of 30+ scores including a 64* and 62*. Smith has a FC batting average of 27 and bowling average of 26.5.
James Hartshorn also took 20w @ 23.6avg/5.8rpo in Ford Trophy and 6w @ 14.3avg/7.1rpo in Super Smash. He is second for Wellington wickets in Plunket Shield with 8w @ 42.2avg/3.5rpo.
Canterbury
Draw vs Otago | 2-1-2 | 3rd | 53 points
Best Performers vs Otago
Sean Davey: 4w @ 2rpo
Fraser Sheat: 3w @ 2.5rpo
Henry Nicholls: 96*
Best Performers This Season
Henry Nicholls: 563 runs @ 140.7avg/74sr
Matthew Boyle: 299 runs @ 42.7avg/57sr
Chad Bowes: 236 runs @ 33.7avg/67sr
Sean Davey: 166 runs @ 41.5avg/58sr | 17w @ 20.4avg/2.6rpo
Michael Rae: 12w @ 29.1avg/2.8rpo
Notebook
Henry Nicholls has hit seven centuries in Plunket Shield (3) and Ford Trophy (4) this season, with 588 runs @ 73.5avg/96s in Ford Trophy. He has a FC batting average of 41.9 and LA average of 43.3 with scores of 41, 34*, 16, 122, 0, 44*, 1, 115, 96* in his last 10 games.
Canterbury's seam core in FC bowling…
Fraser Sheat: 28.2avg/2.8rpo
Sean Davey: 20.7avg/2.5rpo
Michael Rae: 32.7avg/3.6rpo
Otago
Draw vs Canterbury | 1-1-3 | 4th | 46 points
Best Performers vs Canterbury
Jack Boyle: 62 runs
Jacob Cumming: 58 runs
Tom Jones: 57 runs
Luke Georgeson: 3w @ 2.6rpo
Thomas O'Connor: 3w @ 4.3rpo
Best Performers This Season
Jacob Cumming: 390 runs @ 55.7avg/65sr
Luke Georgeson: 331 runs @ 82.7avg/39sr | 16w @ 26.6avg/3.4rpo
Max Chu: 309 runs @ 44.1avg/60sr
Danru Ferns: 16w @ 30.5avg/3.6rpo
Notebook
Jack Boyle's FC batting average of 23.6 should keep improving with a regular role for Otago. He has three centuries and four 50+ scores, with one of each in Plunket Shield this season and 267 runs @ 33.3avg/43r.
Jacob Cumming is 22-years-old and averages 29 in FC batting. His only century and two of his five 50+ scores in FC batting have been this season - three of his six 50+ scores have been this season.
Tom Jones is 19-years-old and already has a century and half-century in FC batting. He had a bunch of low scores between those knocks but is still trucking along with 27.5avg/73r in FC batting after five games. The only other Otago batter with 50+ runs and a strike-rate over 70 in Plunket Shield is Glenn Phillips (130 runs @ 73sr) so Jones is scoring quickly.
Luke Georgeson has a FC batting average of 26.8 and bowling average of 31.1.
21-year-old lefty seamer Thomas O'Connor has 5w @ 26.4avg/2.5rpo after three FC games.
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