Country cricket gets its Cup back

Metropolitan cricket's flirtation with Hawke Cup cricket is over.

A New Zealand Cricket (NZC) review committee looking into the future shape of district cricket as part of the overall study of the game in New Zealand has decided the three-year fling with Metropolitan teams from Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin should end.

In that time teams from each of the regions had their hands on the challenge trophy and Dunedin Metropolitan was the last holder of the Cup.

As a result of there now being no clear holder of the Cup it has been decided to reduce the qualifying zones for challenges from six to four.

And instead of challenges, semi-finals and finals will now be played.

Zone 1 will be minor associations from Northern Districts, Zone 2 will be Central Districts, and Hutt Valley, Zone 3 will be Canterbury Country and Buller, West Coast, Mid and South Canterbury while Zone 4 will be North and Central Otago and Southland.

The winners of the competitions in Zones 1 and 2 will be automatic semi-finalists, the second-placed teams in the two zones will be the third semi-finalist.

The winners of Zones 3 and 4 will play off to decide the fourth semi-finalist.

The changed format has been brought in for only one season and there is the prospect that it will revert to a challenge trophy in future seasons.

Changes to the format were at the suggestion of the minor associations.

Whether Hutt Valley will play in the competition is still to be decided. After its amalgamation with Wellington last season, it lost its autonomous status although there was some provision for it to continue as a representative entity.

However, the clubs in Hutt Valley now compete in a combined competition with Wellington and there may be some reluctance to release players to play for Hutt Valley in what will be a full programme of games against teams from the Zone.

Compounding that reluctance could be the fact that Wellington clubs, who previously contributed to Wellington City in the Hawke Cup competition, will be at full strength.

Meanwhile, changes in the shape and structure of domestic, club and schools cricket will be considered by a high level committee in Auckland on Tuesday.

Reports from the sub-committees formed to carry out the studies will be handed to: NZC chairman Sir John Anderson, chief executive Christopher Doig, John Hood, John Graham, Peter Sharp, Martin Snedden, Iain Gallaway and David Appleby.

They will then prepare a report for the board of NZC to be considered at its next meeting on September 15.

NZC's annual general meeting, to be held in Wellington on October 25, has been put back to allow presentation of the reviews to be part of the meeting.