
New Zealand’s domestic summer will start with one-day cricket for the second consecutive year, with the men’s Ford Trophy set to open proceedings on Saturday, 25 October, 2025.
NZC changed up the order of the men’s competitions last season in order to offer different pitch conditions across the white and red-ball formats, as well as to better align with the international home summer schedule.
NZC Chief Cricket Operations Officer Catherine Campbell said the decision to switch the starting order of the two men’s competitions before Christmas last year was a success.
“Aligning the domestic and international schedules by format was well received by the playing and coaching groups last year, so we’re continuing that this season,” she said as The Ford Trophy and women's Hallyburton Johnstone Shield schedules were unveiled by NZC today.
“It helped domestic bowlers build up their owling loads initially through one-day cricket, which better prepared them for the physical demands of four-day cricket later in the season.
“It’s not always possible to line the fixtures up like that, but this season we’ve been able to again, with The Ford Trophy being played over the top of England’s white-ball tour of New Zealand, and the Plunket Shield providing a good run-up into the West Indies Test series.”
The schedule sees the Central Stags open their season with two October one-dayers at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park to kick off CD Cricket's 75th jubilee year.
Those initial rounds will be their only home Ford Trophy fixtures before Christmas, the team hitting the road and then detouring into the Plunket Shield and Dream11 Super Smash campaigns until Round Seven of the national one-day comp in Napier, in early February.
The Stags host the last two rounds of The Ford Trophy in Nelson, making Saxton Oval their third home ground of the one-day summer, with all the men’s and women’s domestic one-dayers free admission again this season.
The Hinds will also open their account at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park with back-to-back games on the weekend of 15 and 16 November, before a four-match run at Palmerston North’s Fitzherbert Park in the lead-up to Christmas.
Having narrowly missed out on last season’s Final, the team will be hoping to use that early home advantage to get a healthy start on the points table before they tear into February’s business end of the season, with four away matches in Auckland and Mount Maunganui.
With the ICC Women’s One-Day World Cup finishing in India a few weeks prior to the start of the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield (HBJ), Campbell is looking forward to a contingent of WHITE FERNS coming back to domestic cricket with excellent preparation under their belts.
“The WHITE FERNS will come back from the 50-over World Cup and we’d expect many of those players to be available for HBJ.
“We are also playing another [female] North v South series in the week leading up to Christmas, which adds a little extra context on performances.
“All that should allow players to go into Super Smash in some good domestic form.”
Wellington’s Cello Basin Reserve has been selected to host the one-day finals weekend for 2025/26, with the men’s Ford Trophy Elimination Final on Friday, 20 February, the women’s national Hallyburton Johnstone Shield Final on Saturday, 21 February and the men’s Ford Trophy Grand Final on the Sunday.
The men’s first-class Plunket Shield fixtures will be announced this Wednesday, 13 August, and the Dream11 Super Smash men's and women's schedules to follow next week, on Monday, 18 August 2025
CENTRAL STAGS GAMES
Free admission from 10.30am
ROUND 1 • Saturday 25 October • Pukekura Park, New Plymouth v Wellington Firebirds
ROUND 2 • Thursday 30 October • Pukekura Park, New Plymouth v Northern Districts
ROUND 3 • Monday 3 November • University of Otago Oval, Dunedin v Otago Volts
ROUND 4 • Saturday 8 November • Eden Park Outer Oval v Auckland Aces
ROUND 5 • Wednesday 12 November • Mainpower Oval, Rangiora v Canterbury
ROUND 6 • Wednesday 4 February • Cello Basin Reserve, Wellington v Wellington Firebirds
ROUND 7 • Saturday 7 February • McLean Park, Napier v Auckland Aces
ROUND 8 • Tuesday 10 February • Seddon Park, Hamilton v Northern Districts
ROUND 9 • Friday 13 February • Saxton Oval, Nelson v Otago Volts
ROUND 10 • Tuesday 17 February • Saxton Oval, Nelson v Canterbury
Top three teams proceed to Finals in Wellington
CENTRAL HINDS GAMES
Free admission from 10.30am
ROUND 1 • Saturday 15 November • Pukekura Park, New Plymouth v Canterbury Magicians
ROUND 2 • Sunday 16 November • Pukekura Park, New Plymouth v Canterbury Magicians
ROUND 3 • Saturday 29 November • Fitzherbert Park, Palmerston North v Wellington Blaze
ROUND 4 • Sunday 30 November • Fitzherbert Park, Palmerston North v Wellington Blaze
ROUND 5 • Saturday 13 December • Fitzherbert Park, Palmerston North v Otago Sparks
ROUND 6 • Sunday 14 December • Fitzherbert Park, Palmerston North v Otago Sparks
ROUND 7 • Saturday 7 February • Eden Park Outer Oval v Auckland Hearts
ROUND 8 • Sunday 8 February • Eden Park Outer Oval v Auckland Hearts
ROUND 9 • Saturday 14 February • Bay Oval, Mt Maunganui v Northern Districts
ROUND 10 • Sunday 15 February • Bay Oval, Mt Maunganui v Northern Districts
Top two teams proceed to Final in Wellington
Article added: Monday 11 August 2025