Auckland Aces

Team Country: New Zealand
Team City: Auckland, New Zealand
Team Administrator: Auckland Cricket Association
Founded (Year): 1873
Home Ground: Eden Park Outer Oval
Coach: Doug Watson
Captain: Robert O'Donnell
Forms of Cricket: First-Class Limited Overs Twenty20
Auckland Aces

Auckland Aces: Current Squad

Colin Munro Colin Munro Batsman Kyle Jamieson Kyle Jamieson Bowler Lockie Ferguson Lockie Ferguson Bowler Martin Guptill Martin Guptill Batsman

Auckland Aces: professional cricket club

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Auckland Aces

The Auckland Aces sports team was formed in 1873 in the city of the same name in New Zealand. Run by the Auckland Association, the club is the most successful project in the country. Throughout its history, Auckland has won the Plunket Shield internal test championship 23 times. In addition, the club has 12 Ford Trophy titles and 4 Super Smash wins. The team plays home matches at the Eden Park sports stadium with a capacity of 42,000 people. Our site has prepared for you a short article about the history of the development of the Auckland Aces cricket club.

Auckland Aces – Team Success

The Auckland Amateur Team became the 1st New Zealand team to play a one-day away cricket match against Wellington in 1860. The game took place on a military parade ground near the Mount Cook barracks. That match was won by Auckland, beating opponents by a score of four wickets.

The Oakland Cricket Association itself was formed in 1873. This year is considered the official date of birth of the Auckland sports club. In the same 1873, the team played their first-class debut match against players from Canterbury. This fight was part of a game tour in which Oakland won 4 wins in 4 games:

  1. Against the Wellington Club;
  2. Against the Otago team;
  3. Against the Canterbury collective;
  4. Against players from the city of Nelson.

The club won its first serious title only when the first professional cricket championship, the Plunket Shield, appeared in the country. It happened in 1908. The team was not going to stop there. It was voted best in a top-notch tournament (test cricket matches that lasted for several days) in the 1909 and 1910 seasons.

The championship began to be held in a circular system (only then did the standings appear) in 1921. At that time, the team had two more championship titles. The 1920s and 1930s are considered the golden years for the Auckland Aces. This was indeed the case, because the team was recognized as the best 8 times over these seasons (4 of them in a row).

Cricket in the city of Auckland developed rapidly. The team was born with such professional players as: Merv Wallace, Bill Carson, Jack Cowie and Paul Whitelaw. Unfortunately, in the early 1940s, due to World War II, all official cricket games ceased.

Auckland Aces - Team Success

Auckland Aces – Post-War Results. Modern years

After the war, in the first-class cricket championship, the competition among the teams became more or less equal. For 15 years, a new tournament winner was determined each season.

An amazing game happened with Auckland in 1951. In a match against Canterbury, Auckland’s Merv Wallace broke his arm while hitting an opponent’s throw in a match against Canterbury. However, he found courage in himself and finished the match despite the pain. The club won that game, and Merv made his name in the history of the team and throughout New Zealand.

In 1971, a new championship appeared in the country – the New Zealand Motor Corporation Knock-out (today, the Ford Trophy competition). The team won it for the first time in 1973. Further, Auckland did not manage to take a single title for 5 years. Finally, the team won their 13th champion title in Plunket Shield in 1978. A year later, the players were recognized as the best in the Ford Trophy tournament for the second time (let us clarify that these competitions were held in the form of one-day matches with a limited number of overs).

1981 was a successful year for the team. Then the players were able to win two domestic championships of the country. The next time the club won in 1983 and 1984 (but only in the Ford Trophy). The jubilee 15th victory in the test championship happened in 1989.

Auckland Aces - Post-War Results. Modern years

Already in the 21st century, and specifically in 2005, the 3rd cricket championship appeared in New Zealand. Its first name was New Zealand Twenty20 Competition (now Super Smash). At this point, Auckland already had 21 Plunket Shield and 7 Ford Trophy titles. A good sports season happened in 2007. Then Auckland won the Super Smash for the first time and became the best in the Ford Trophy.

To date, the results of the cricket team are as follows:

  • the Plunket Shield (23 times) – the last championship in 2016;
  • the Ford Trophy (12) – most recent in 2020;
  • the Super Smash (4) – The last final won in 2016.

Now, some of the club’s successful players include William Somerville, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman and Colin Munro.

Nisha Bhavani
Author: Nisha Bhavani Position: Cricket Expert

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