About Cricket Wellington

The origins of cricket in Wellington can be traced to the early days of settlement in the1840s. The Wellington Cricketers' Association, which was the forebear to today's Cricket Wellington, was formed on 23 October 1875 so "that a Cricketing Association be formed for the purpose of providing a ground for the use of the clubs forming the Association, for the management of provincial and intercolonial matches, and the advancement of cricket generally."

Today cricket remains one of the leading sports in the region, with 24 affiliated clubs competing at grassroots level in Wellington across 80 two-day, 42 one-day, 15 women's and 283 junior club teams at the start of the 2008/09 season.

Cricket Wellington fosters and administers all cricket in the region, from junior cricket right up to its flagship professional teams the State Wellington Firebirds and State Wellington Blaze who compete in New Zealand's premier domestic men's and women's competitions. The State Wellington Firebirds play in the State Championship, State Shield and State Twenty20 and the State Wellington Blaze play for the Women's State League and Twenty20 competitions, while the Wellington A, Women's Development and age-grade sides all compete in their respective national tournaments and also tour overseas.

Cricket Wellington's main office is the Brierley Pavilion at the Allied Nationwide Finance Basin Reserve, while there are Wellington School of Cricket High Performance centres located at Westpac Stadium, Ngatitoa Domain and the Hutt Recreation Ground.