Otago Volts
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Wikipedia - Otago cricket team
The Otago cricket team, nicknamed the Volts since the 1997–98 season, are a New Zealand first-class cricket team which first played representative cricket in 1864. The team represents the Otago, Southland and North Otago regions of New Zealand's South Island. Their main governing board is the Otago Cricket Association which is one of six major associations that make up New Zealand Cricket.
Cricket was first played in Otago in 1849, the year after the province was settled by Europeans, and the Otago Cricket Association was founded in 1876. The Otago representative team played in the first match which is considered to have first-class status to have been played in New Zealand, a January 1864 fixture with Canterbury which was part of a four team tournament which also included Southland and an English team led by George Parr which was touring Australia.
The modern Otago team plays most of its home games at the University Oval in Dunedin, but occasionally plays games at the Queenstown Events Centre, Queen's Park Ground in Invercargill and Molyneux Park in Alexandra. The team plays first-class, List A and Twenty20 matches against other New Zealand provincial sides, although in the past has also played against touring sides.
The team's head-coach for the 2024–25 season, Ashley Noffke, left to take up a position as assistant coach with the Pakistan national team after the end of the season. Former New Zealand coach Gary Stead took over the role in a temporary facility over the winter period. The 2024–25 captain was all-rounder Luke Georgeson.