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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