2011–12 Plunket Shield season
The 2011–12 Plunket Shield season was the 86th season of official first class domestic cricket in New Zealand. The season started on 7 November 2011.
The Plunket Shield and other domestic cricket in New Zealand has traditionally been broadcast ball-by-ball by Radio New Zealand and more recently by Radio Sport after parts of RNZ were privatised in the 1990s. This season marked a historic milestone when Radio Sport decided to not provide any live commentary of the Plunket Shield,. This was unexpected by both listeners and the administrators of six major associations.
The competition was won by Northern Districts, who claimed the title for the eighth time after securing enough bonus points in their final match despite losing heavily to Central Districts by 252 runs.
Table
The winner will be decided on points at the end of the 10 rounds.| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L |
| Northern Districts | 96 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Central Districts | 86 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Auckland | 82 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Wellington | 77 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Otago | 61 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Canterbury | 57 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
Teams
| Team | Home ground † | Captain |
| Auckland | Colin Maiden Park, Auckland | Gareth Hopkins |
| Canterbury | Mainpower Oval, Rangiora | Peter Fulton |
| Central Districts | McLean Park, Napier | Jamie How |
| Northern Districts | Seddon Park, Hamilton | Brad Wilson |
| Otago | University Oval, Dunedin | Aaron Redmond |
| Wellington | Basin Reserve, Wellington | Grant Elliott |
† Most teams play matches at other venues throughout the season.