In a perfect script for the capital’s cricket fans, both of Wellington’s Domestic representative teams have reached the national one-day finals set to be played at their home ground, the Cello Basin Reserve, over the coming days.
The predetermined venue for both the men’s Ford Trophy and women’s Hallyburton Johnstone Shield deciders was inked in months ago, and now the Wellington Firebirds and Wellington Blaze are locked in for their home city supporters.
The Firebirds yesterday (Wednesday) became the final piece in the puzzle, joining the Central Stags for Friday’s Ford Trophy Elimination Final, the winner of which gets to play top qualifier Canterbury in Sunday’s Grand Final.
The Stags have a good record in Wellington | MBUTCHER
The Blaze meanwhile gets ready to play women’s top qualifier Northern Districts in Saturday’s Hallyburton Johnstone Shield Final — a title Northern has never won. ND has never won a title in either Domestic format in New Zealand.
While they’ll be playing on home turf, neither Wellington team will be the ‘home’ team come toss time, with the Stags (EF), Canterbury’s men (GF) and Northern Districts women having earned that privilege by virtue of having finished higher on the table in the regular season.
ND's top runscorer Caitlin Gurrey | PHOTOSPORT
In the event of no result, the higher qualifier is deemed the winner — but with a mercifully cooperative weather forecast, that will hopefully be a redundant point.
All matches are free admission with a scheduled toss time of 10am and start time of 10.30am.
Blaze fan favourite Xara Jetly | PHOTOSPORT
The Hallyburton Johnstone Shield Final and The Ford Trophy Grand Final will be broadcast on NZC YouTube with a multi-camera livestream and expert commentary team — including WHITE FERNS and Hearts legends Emily Drumm and Katie Perkins for the women’s Final and BLACKCAP and Central Stag Ajaz Patel and retired Auckland Aces wicketkeeper-batter Ben Horne for the men’s Final.
THE FORD TROPHY ELIMINATION FINAL
10.30am Friday, 20 February
Q2 Central Stags v Q3 Wellington Firebirds
Livescores: www.nzc.nz | NZC app
Free livestream: NZC YouTube
THE FORD TROPHY 2025/26 GRAND FINAL
10.30am Sunday, 22 February
Q1 Canterbury v winner of Elimination Final
Livescores: www.nzc.nz | NZC app
Free livestream: NZC YouTube (multicamera with live commentary)
In Focus
Star turns from allrounder and BLACKCAP Nathan Smith (who scored his first Ford Trophy half century in the Wellington jersey, an unbeaten 64* off 47 balls) and legspinning icon Peter Younghusband (4/38 and a screamer of a one-handed catch) helped the Firebirds swat aside strong Northern Districts by 118 runs on Wednesday at the Basin in order to progress to the Elimination Final.
Peter Younghusband | MBUTCHER
The men’s Super Smash champions from New Zealand’s north had been the only other team still in contention as the last round of a hard-fought regular season unfolded yesterday.
Instead of making it into the top three, Northern was left smarting in second-to-last spot on the final one-day ladder.
The result will please the Stags who inked in their own berth in Friday’s knockout game with a round to spare.
Curtis Heaphy | PHOTOSPORT
The Stags have beaten the Firebirds both home and away in the regular season, including an 18-run victory at the Basin at the start of the month — but had chalked up twin losses against Northern Districts.
With a graunchy 22-run win, the Stags also defeated top qualifier Canterbury in Nelson on Tuesday, a team they will hope to meet and beat again on Sunday despite a handful of key players missing from the Central camp through either injury or availability.
PHOTOSPORT
The Stags lost last season’s Elimination Final in Dunedin to the Auckland Aces after a Jimmy Neesham century stole the show.
The Firebirds last appeared in The Ford Trophy Finals in March 2021 when they lost that season’s Elimination Final to Northern Districts in Hamilton by 138 runs [DLS], with a substantially different squad to the one that will suit up this Friday.
The Firebirds haven’t won this trophy since 2018/19, while the Stags were champion in 2022/23 in Napier, in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle; a match in which allrounder Josh Clarkson scored a matchwinning unbeaten century against Canterbury.
Despite a recidivist runners-up tag in the Super Smash over the last five years, Canterbury has made a habit of excelling in the one-day game: the side went on to atone by winning The Ford Trophy in each of the successive seasons.
Tom Latham is captain while former skipper Cole McConchie is at the T20 World Cup | PHOTOSPORT
Tom Latham’s front-running men are now hugely motivated to send off outgoing Head Coach Peter Fulton (departing at the end of The Ford Trophy to join English County Middlesex) with a rare threepeat of one-day crowns.
Canterbury has done this before, and were the first to do so. They won the national title in the 1975/76, 1976/77 and 1977/78 seasons, and again in the 1991/92, 1992/93 and 1993/94 seasons.
PHOTOSPORT
They are the only team to have won three titles in a row once, let alone twice or thrice.
The Stags and Firebirds can each draw on external motivations of their own. The Stags would dearly love a title to mark their 75th Jubilee season while the Wellington Cricket Association is now 150 years old — officially formed in 1875, two years after Wellington began playing cricket as a representative men’s team.
The Stags and Firebirds both won six of their 10 regular season matches, while Canterbury dropped only two games — against the Stags this week and Firebirds in October — for seven wins.
Canterbury took bonus points from five of their biggest victories, with the Stags took three and Firebirds two, to finish six points clear of the field.
HALLYBURTON JOHNSTONE SHIELD
There will be a guaranteed new champion this year in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield after the Otago Sparks — champion in each of the past two summers, finished last this season.
While top qualifier Northern Brave has never lifted this trophy, they have qualified for the national one-day final once previously, beaten by the Auckland Hearts in a high-scoring Hamilton showdown in the summer of 2019/20.
The team celebrates a Marama Dowmes wicket | PHOTOSPORT
Having also qualified top on that occasion, the season marked a notable turnaround for a side that had traditionally finished at the wrong end of the table in both national formats.
By contrast, the Blaze has been a regular finalist in recent times and last held the history-laden wooden shield in 2022/23, after a four-run thriller in Queenstown against the Canterbury Magicians.
PHOTOSPORT
The Blaze was runner-up to Otago both the season before and after that, however hadn’t won the title since sharing it with Canterbury back in 2003/04.
The T20 format is another story, the Blaze by far the most dominant team on the landscape over the past decade in the Super Smash.
To reach the Basin this season, the Blaze won six of its regular season matches while Jess Watkin’s northerners have been almost unstoppable in their best summer.
Nensi Patel | PHOTOSPORT
Northern inked in the top spot early with eight wins and five bonus points, and suffered just one washout and a single loss — to the Blaze.
They haven’t been beaten since the very first round in mid-November, when Blaze won by eight wickets (DLS) in Whangārei.
Jess Kerr’s “Blazies” picked up three bonus points along the way but still finished a full 10 points behind ND on the regular season ladder.
PHOTOSPORT
Quirky facts: Northern has hit the most boundaries in the competition with 198 so far, while the Blaze produced the biggest total: 325/5 against the Hearts last weekend.
Inspirational Northern captain Jess Watkin notably blasted the fastest fifty (by balls) in the competition’s history last weekend, at Mt Maunganui against the Central Hinds, off 26 balls, while Blaze star Melie Kerr is fresh off her latest century, 128 in 122 balls in the high-scoring game against the Aucklanders at the Basin.
The Final pits two strong teams against each other in what promises to be an unmissable showdown.
2025/26 NATIONAL FINAL
10.30am Saturday, 21 February
Q1 Northern Districts v Q2 Wellington Blaze
Livescores: www.nzc.nz | NZC app
Free livestream: NZC YouTube (multicamera with live commentary)
Match Official Appointments
THE FORD TROPHY ELIMINATION FINAL
Umpires: Kannan Jagannathan, John Dempsey
Scorers: Euan West, James Manhire
Match Referee: Kevin Pulley
HALLYBURTON JOHNSTONE SHIELD FINAL
Umpires: Greg Pennell and Tina Semmens
Scorers: Euan West and Keith Horsley
Match Referee: Sue Morris
THE FORD TROPHY GRAND FINAL
Umpires: Cory Black and Billy Bowden
Scorers: Euan West and Matt Frost
Match Referee: Kevin Pulley
Notes:
1. Use of Super Overs
All three fixtures (Elimination Final, HBJ Final, Ford Trophy Final) will be decided by a Super Over if tied.
The playing conditions provide for unlimited Super Overs until a winner is determined.
2. Process Following a Tied Match
The first Super Over will start within 10 minutes after the conclusion of the tied match.
Any subsequent Super Overs will begin 5 minutes after the previous one.
3. Light Considerations – Cello Basin Reserve
The Basin Reserve has no floodlighting so Super Overs can only continue while natural light remains safe and suitable.
Umpires will continually assess light conditions throughout the Super Over sequence.
4. If Light Becomes Unfit During Super Overs
If light deteriorates to an unsafe or unreasonable level, umpires will suspend play.
If a Super Over cannot be completed, or further Super Overs cannot be started, the match result will be determined as follows:
• The Ford Trophy Elimination Final: Higher‑placed team progresses to Grand Final
• The Ford Trophy Final: Higher‑placed qualifier wins the title
• HBJ Final: Higher‑placed qualifier wins the title.
