Canterbury played their first recorded match in 1932, against Otago, which they won by five runs.[1] They played in their first Hallyburton Johnstone Challenge Shield in 1938–39, losing to Wellington.[2] After another failed attempt at winning the Challenge Shield a year later, they were victorious at their next attempt, in 1943–44, beating Auckland and Wellington.[3][4] They defended their title in the next two tournaments.[5][6]
Over the next twenty-five years, Canterbury added five Shield titles to their honours: in 1955–56, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1963–64 and 1966–67. Canterbury were victorious two more times in the early 1970s, before becoming the dominant force in the country from the 1978–79 season: they won 20 out of 21 titles between 1978–79 and 1998–99, only missing out in 1989–90, when they came second to Wellington.[7][8] In 1962–63, Canterbury competed in the Australian Women's Cricket Championships.[9]
Following their period of domination, they finished second to Auckland four times in a row before regaining the title in 2003–04, shared with Wellington as the final was rained-off.[8][10] They won the title outright the following season, and three times in a row between 2006–07 and 2008–09. Wins came again in 2010–11, 2012–13, 2016–17 and most recently in 2020–21 with captain Frances Mackay hitting 94* to lead them to victory over Auckland.[8][11] They are the most successful side in the history of the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, with 39 title wins.[12]
Canterbury have also played in the Super SmashTwenty20 competition since 2007–08. They won the inaugural competition, and five more times since, in 2010–11, 2011–12, 2015–16, 2020–21 and 2022–23.[13] Their wins in 2007–08, 2010–11 and 2020–21 meant that they won the double of the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield and the Super Smash.[13] Canterbury all-rounder Frances Mackay has been the leading run-scorer in the Super Smash three times, in 2015–16, 2016–17 and 2018–19, and was the leading wicket-taker in 2015–16 and 2020–21.[14][15][16][17]
Players who have played for Canterbury and played internationally are listed below, in order of first international appearance (given in brackets):[21]
