The Hawke Cup is a cricket competition for New Zealand's District Associations. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Apart from 1910/11, 1912/13 and 2000/01 the competition has always been on a challenge basis. In order to win the Hawke Cup the challenger must beat the holder on their home ground. Teams from New Zealand's 4 "main centres", Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin have not usually competed for the Hawke Cup, although they did participate for the latter half of the 1990s. The Auckland metropolitan area or Greater Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country Wellington (ˈwælɪŋtən is the Capital of New Zealand, the country's second largest urban area, the Christchurch (Ōtautahi The largest City in the South Island, it is also the second largest city and third largest urban area of New Zealand Dunedin (dəˈneɪdɪn) Ōtepoti in Maori is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of They were excluded again from the 2000/01 season. Since then, the team from Hamilton, the city at the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, has been the strongest team in the competition. Hamilton ( Kirikiriroa in Māori) is the centre of New Zealand 's fourth largest Urban area, and is the country's seventh largest City
Contents |
| Season | Challenge Matches | Holder at End of Season. |
|---|---|---|
| 2000/01 | Semi-Finals Hamilton v Canturbury Country, Hawke's Bay v Bay of Plenty, Final Hamilton v Hawkes Bay | Hamilton |
| 2001/02 | Hamilton v North Otagao, Hamilton v Hawkes Bay, Hamilton v Northland, Hamilton v Canturbury Country, Hamilton v Manawatu | Manawatu |
| 2002/03 | Manuwatu v Hawkes Bay, Hawkes Bay v Northland, Northland v Canturbury Country | Northland |
| 2003/04 | Northland v Hamilton, Northland v Mid-Canturbury, Mid-Canturbury v Taranaki | Mid-Canturbury |
| 2004/05 | Mid-Canturbury v Canturbury Country, Canturbury Country v Nelson, Canturbury Country v Hamilton | Hamilton |
| 2005/06 | Hamilton v Taranaki, Hamilton v Northland, Hamilton v Southland, | Hamilton |
| 2006/07 | Hamilton v Northland, Hamilton v Canturbury Country, Hamilton v Taranaki, | Taranaki |
| 2007/08 | Taranaki v Canturbury Country, Canturbury Country v Hawkes Bay, Canturbury Country v Hamilton | Hamilton |
The current Holder's are Hamilton.
Current players can only play a maximum of 3 Hawke Cup Challenge macthes a season, and that is only for members of the team holding the Hawke Cup and defeating every challenger. Historically there have only been between 2 and 6 Hawke Cup Challenge matches every year for the holders, so it has been difficlut for players to build much of a record unless they have been part of a strong team and have had a lengthy career.
Nevertheless, 18 players have scorded more than 1000 runs and 8 players have taken more than 90 wickets.
The only current player who has more than 1000 runs is G. G. Robinson of Hamilton. (April 2008)
| Player | Team(s) | Career | Mat | Inn | NO | HS | Runs | Ave |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leggat I. B. | Nelson | 1948-68 | 38 | 56 | 1 | 130 | 1968 | 35. 78 |
| Reade L. B. | Nelson | 1958-73 | 35 | 57 | 2 | 117 | 1951 | 35. 47 |
| Lowans G. E. | Nelson | 1958-73 | 30 | 48 | 1 | 130 | 1811 | 38. 53 |
| Anderson R. W. | Northland & Southland | 1970-77 | 16 | 31 | 6 | 255 | 1773 | 70. 92 |
| McVicar C. C. | Manawatu | 1935-54 | 28 | 44 | 1 | 180 | 1754 | 40. 79 |
| Spence D. V. | Hawkes Bay & Nelson | 1949-67 | 34 | 51 | 8 | 151 | 1574 | 36. 60 |
| Robinson G. G. | Hamilton | 2001- | 14 | 22 | 2 | 268 | 1482 | 74. 1 |
There are 4 regional zones in the Hawke Cup.
| Zone 1 | Zone 2 | Zone 3 | Zone 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | Hawke's Bay | Mid Canterbury | Central Otago |
| Northland | Marlborough | Buller | North Otago |
| Counties-Manukau | Nelson | Canterbury Country | Southland |
| Bay of Plenty | Horowhenua Kapiti | South Canterbury | |
| Poverty Bay | Manawatu | West Coast | |
| Waikato Valley | Taranaki | ||
| Wairarapa | |||
| Wanganui |
After a round robin within each zone, the winners of Zone 3 and the winners of Zone 4 play each other and the winner of that game challenges the holder. A Hawke's Bay cricket team, representing that region of New Zealand, played First-class cricket between 1883-84 and 1920-21 competing in the Plunket The Northern Districts Knights are one of six New Zealand first class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. Honours 1st XI League Winners - 21 - 1892 1895 1896 1903 1911 1928 1929 1931 1932 1934 1935 1936 1937 1946 1965 1967 1969 1986 The winners of Zone 1 and 2 also challenge the holder. Hawke Cup games are played over 3 days. To win the Hawke Cup a challenger must beat the holder outright or win on the first innings on the holder's home ground.
These are the former teams that have played in the Hawke Cup in the past. They are:
A scoreboard of almost every Hawke Cup Challenge game ever played [1]