Schedule Announced for Hallyburton Johnstone Shield 2025-26, Starts November 15

New Zealand’s domestic summer will begin with One Day cricket for the second consecutive year, with the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield (HJS) starting from November 15.

With the ICC Women’s One-Day World Cup concluding in India just weeks before the start of the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield (HBJ), NZC Chief Cricket Operations Officer Catherine Campbell is looking forward to a number of players returning to domestic cricket well-prepared and in strong form.

“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 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,” Campbell said.

Wellington’s Cello Basin Reserve has been selected to host the one-day finals weekend, with the women’s Grand Final scheduled for Saturday, February 21.

Fourteen venues across New Zealand will stage domestic one-day fixtures this season, stretching from Queen’s Park in Invercargill in the south to Cobham Oval in Whangārei in the north.

Reigning women’s champions, the Otago Sparks, have held off both the Wellington Blaze and Auckland Hearts in the past two finals. This season, they’ll be aiming to make history by securing a third consecutive one-day title. The Sparks begin their title defence at home, taking on the Auckland Hearts at the University of Otago Oval.

As with last summer, the one-day competitions will be interspersed with the opening rounds of the full Super Smash, T20 competition, campaign through the middle of the season. The Super Smash fixtures are to follow on Monday, August 18.

Hallyburton Johnstone Shield 2025-26:

(Quotes sourced from New Zealand Cricket)

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