Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval at will post another first this weekend when the Wellington Firebirds meet the Auckland Aces in a Plunket Shield match.

The Wellington move to the Bay of Plenty has been brought about by their usual home venue being unavailable and the wish to play on another major association wicket block.

The match will be the 75th International or NZC Major Association game played at the Bay Oval, in less than nine full seasons.

The Plunket Shield is amongst the oldest major sporting trophies in New Zealand. The Plunket Shield was presented to the New Zealand cricket Association by the then Governor-General of New Zealand Baron Plunket in 1906.

It was the first class championship trophy until the mid 1970's when it became the Shell Trophy, and then later became the State Championship.

The Plunket Shield was reintroduced in the 2009/10 season, with the trophy awarded to the winner of the four-day first past the post competition, between Auckland, Northern Districts, Central Districts, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago first-class teams.

The Bay Oval will also celebrate a significant milestone during the 2016/17 cricket season with the 80^th NZ Cricket Major Association and ICC International match being played at the Mount Maunganui ground.

A Twenty/20 encounter on December 7, 2007, between Northern Spirit and the Canterbury Magicians, welcomed the return of NZ Cricket Major Association games to Mount Maunganui.

On the February 28, 2014, the Bay Oval received temporary ICC ODI status when Canada and The Netherlands played off for seventh place in the CWCQ14. The awarding of the temporary ODI status was brought about as both countries held ICC ODI rankings.

The first Women's International took place at the Bay Oval during March 2014, when the New Zealand White Ferns squared off with the West Indies in two T20 international contests.

On the October 21, 2014, history was made at the Bay Oval when the Black Caps played South Africa in a One Day International, with the two sides backing up three days later.

While the South African visitors prevailed in both encounters, crowds in their thousands flocked to the Bay Oval in the two weekday matches.

The NZ Cricket use of the Bay Oval continued on full throttle in the 2015/16 season, with two Black Cap encounters with Sri Lanka and the White Ferns three game ODI series against World Number One Australia.

The Wellington Firebirds and the Auckland Aces go to battle in the first round of the Plunket Shield at Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval from Saturday, October 22, to Tuesday, October 25, starting daily at 10.30am.