Free admission to see the cauldron of national first-class cricket and Test star Ajaz Patel, now back from the BLACKCAPS series win in India!

People pay big bucks to watch this in England, but we're all about free admission to see the training ground of test cricket, a hard-fought national red-ball championship that dates back an incredible 118 years.

This is the second Plunket Shield game of the season and a no-frills event but you can take your pick of great viewing from anywhere on the grass bank or seats at Saxton Oval (Stoke), and bring your lunch, folding chairs, picnic spread for a novel free day's entertainment

Live scoreboard to keep you up with the play and follow @centralstags on instagram for the behind the scenes content and updates. Toss on day one is 10am, with gates opening shortly beforehand and livescores at www.cdcricket.co.nz so you can check the state of play anytime before you pop in - and come and go as you please. It's a great way to switch up the scenery for your lunch hour.

Follow along with official hashtags #lovethestags #plunketshield