Bay of Plenty will host a Hawke Cup Challenge Match for the first time since January 2018 when Canterbury Country arrives to contest the famous silverware at Bay Oval from this Friday morning.
The Zone 3 challenge is the third of the summer’s four Challenge Matches, Bay of Plenty the new holder after having ended spirited Taranaki’s year-long grip on the 1910 trophy a fortnight ago in New Plymouth.
Canterbury Country has meanwhile been a regular challenger over the past decade (although unsuccessfully so in the past two years).
The team last held the Hawke Cup themselves just three years ago, taking it off Hawke’s Bay at the start of the 2022/23 summer and holding onto it until the beginning of the following season when Hawke’s Bay snatched it back.
The coming three-day Challenge Match begins at 10.30am this Friday, with the silverware able to be won either on the first innings or outright.
The holder after this weekend’s challenge will then host the final challenger for this season, Zone 4’s South Canterbury, at their home ground.
South Canterbury headed off Otago Country regionally to earn their third Zone 4 challenge in consecutive seasons.
Follow Hawke Cup livescores at www.nzc.nz and on the NZC app.
HAWKE CUP • 2025/26
Remaining matches:
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Zone 3 Challenge: 27 February-1 March 2026:Holder Bay of Plenty v Challenger Canterbury CountryAt Bay Oval, Mt Maunganui
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Zone 4 Challenge: 13-15 March 2026Holder v South Canterbury (venue TBC)
