da realbet： New Zealand Cricket has announced an expanded season with more matches in each of the three main tournaments – the four-day State Championships, the one-day State Shield, and the Twenty20 tournament
Cricinfo staff09-Oct-2009New Zealand Cricket has announced an expanded season with more matches in each of the three main tournaments – the four-day competition, the one-day tournament and the Twenty20.The first-class competition will have each of the six teams playing the other twice, on a home-and-away basis, with the side topping the table after the league phase winning. Unlike previous seasons there will be no final.”This is an important element in strengthening our international performance – as it will give our leading domestic first-class players increased exposure to the longer form of the game,” NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said.There is a similar increase in the number of matches – from eight to ten – each side will play in the league phase of the Twenty20 tournament, now called the HRV Cup.There is a change in the format of the one-day competition as well. While the ten-round league phase has been retained, there will be three matches to decide the finalists: one has the top two teams playing each other, the winner of which qualifies for the final; the second has the third and fourth placed teams facing off, the loser of which is eliminated; the third has the winner of the second match and the loser of the first match playing off for a spot in the finals.The four-day tournament will be in two phases; the first starts on November 10 and has five rounds of matches till mid-December, after which the tournament has a two-month break during which the limited-overs competitions take place. The one-day competition follows a similar pattern, starting in December before halting for the HRV Cup, which takes all of January, and resuming in early February.The women’s season schedule includes ten rounds of one-day competition, played in double headers. Five rounds will be played in the Twenty20 competition, with matches played on the days before or after the one-day games.